Forbidden Love
by Ayaoi-chan
Summary: Prince Ludwig fell in love with Feliciano, a slave. The Kingdom sees it as forbidden love, but they both see it as true love in its most beguiling nature albeit secretive.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1: Prince Ludwig and Feliciano**

Ludwig always feels relaxed when there is the smell of flowers everywhere, but for whatever reason, he was never at peace. It has been seven years since his mother died, seven years since he felt the peace he now long for. His mother was a beautiful Queen who ruled by the side of his father Germania, the King of Germany. When Ludwig was nine years of age, his mother was murdered.

No one knows who did it, and no one will ever find out because his father would kill anyone who dared to look into it.

Though King Germania is so adamant about not wanting the Queen murder to be investigated, he roams around the kingdom trying to show the world he feels pain for losing the woman he loved. Thus, Ludwig may not know who did it, but he have his suspicions, his father and Ludwig never really got along well.

After the Queen died, King Germania had forced Ludwig to study extremely hard, since Ludwig was next in line to rule Germany. Ever since he was a child he was forced to study, but the work load increased after his mother died. Even now, he continue to do it, nonsense really. Most things are being taught to Ludwig repeatedly, its such a bore. He don't see why he need to continue studying, he's already smarter than a lot of people, probably the smartest man in Germany who had only lived for seventeen years, and he's not trying to brag. Ludwig have good memory skills and he's a good learner. Specifically, he learn best from his mistakes, and he make a lot of mistakes.

Ludwig's point is that he know a lot of things, including twenty-five other languages. What more do the boy need to know?

He guess he sound like someone who doesn't care about anything, someone who just wants to relax. No, Ludwig really do care. He's an active person; he's kind, giving and have only a light temper. He just get really bored of being the future King. He want more adventure in his life, he want some fun. He want to be able to pick up a sword and swing it freely but the only time he can do that is to practice patterns with some old man who he's not allowed to kill.

Ludwig probably wouldn't kill him though, even if he was allowed to.

Ludwig also love his family, well his brother Gilbert, to be specific. Ludwig love the King, but there are more than a couple of things Ludwig would trade his father for.

Gilbert is older than Ludwig by four years. He is loving, carefree, funny and very supportive brother. He wants Ludwig to be on the top, he wants Ludwig to be the best and awesome King ever.

"Wake up, West!" Gilbert yelled loudly.

Ludwig felt something slide off his face, probably the book, about Dogs . When he opened his eyes, he could smell the flowers again.

"Wake up!" Gilbert yelled.

Ludwig lifted himself up. "Brother! Whats wrong?"

"The awesome sun is going to set soon and father was looking for yeh, he will be very mad if he found out you were sleeping rather than studying!" Gilbert smirked as he got up.

Ludwig rolled his eyes and got up as well. "No ones going to tell him, right?"

"Of course not!" Gilbert said. He grinned at Ludwig and started to run off, leaving the young Prince alone.

Gilbert was an awesome Prince of Germany. His voice is weird and all the women adored him. He spends most of his time playing or having time with his friends or other people in the palace but, even though the King didn't choose Gilbert to be the next King, he also has to study, like Ludwig.

Ludwig turned around and looked at the flowers; the palaces garden was one of the few beautiful places in the kingdom. Then, he sighed, taking in the fresh scents one more time, and began walking down the path towards the throne room.

As he walked everyone who passed him bowed and greeted Ludwig as "Your Highness." The respect is nice but sometimes annoying. Slaves and servants take up probably a little less than two—thirds of the people in this kingdom, he don't see why they need so many, but then again, what the King says must be done and he says a lot.

Ludwig's considered the perfect young Prince. He's smart, kind, gentle, strong and even very good looking. He also have a voice that sounds very demanding which is, according to many people, something a man of royalty needs. But really, Ludwig don't want to be a prince, its a life that's too perfect, so perfect that its boring. Unfortunately, his life isn't a simple story and he can't run away from it, its his destiny to become the next King, he have no choice.

When Ludwig walked into the throne room, he saw his father sitting on his throne and staring in Ludwig's direction, furious. The six royal court members stood by him, three on one side and three on the other. Though they were much nicer than the King, they gave Ludwig a look which said: "Are you asking for trouble?"

Ludwig ignored it and continued to walk slowly, to show his father that he was not afraid of him. Because Ludwig wasn't. Well, he tried to convince himself that he wasn't.

Honestly, Ludwig's biggest fear right now was that the King was going to force Ludwig to marry some royal princess from another nation. After all, Ludwig was seventeen. He didn't want to get married though. A wife would just add to his problems. Especially a pampered little princess who probably couldn't speak his language.

When Ludwig reached the King, Germania continued to stare. The silence was too long, so Ludwig was the one to break it, "My brother told me that you called for me, father." Respect was absolutely important when it came to talking to his father.

"Where have you been?" Germania asked, glaring at his son.

"In the palace garden, father." Ludwig replied, still calm.

"What were you doing?"

"Studying, father."

"Why did you not come when I called for you earlier?"

"I did not know that you called for me, father."

King Germania continued to stare at his son and Ludwig stared back, then the King got up.

"Ludwig! What am I going to do with you?" Germania yelled, Ludwig saw, from the corner of his eyes, the guards step back.

They had this discussion before, and it got violent, Ludwig still have the bruise on his arm. But he's not scared, too many years have passed of him seeing the King like that and Ludwig was not afraid. He stood there, staring back at the King.

"You are a fool, not smart enough to do anything right! And to make everything worse, you are too kind! How will you rule a nation if everyone takes advantage of your kindness! You are lazy and weak! You will die before your first year of ruling our nation is over!" Germania said.

Ludwig didn't react, he have gotten used to the insults as well, since they have been repeated to him for the last seven years.

King Germania stared at Ludwig in disbelief and of course, Ludwig stared back and he swear he saw Germania's pale colour skin, change colours. It was the time of day where he yells at Ludwig for no real reason.

"Damn you child! You little imbecile! Don't you have the slightest bit of fear for me? The King!" Germania's long blond hair flew around as he yelled and shook his head. Also, his small, blue, eyes looked smaller than normal because they were narrowed.

Normal people would have been intimidated, no... scared to death. Literally. The King was a taller man and most of his body consisted of muscles. That's what happens to a kings body when he chooses to take part in a war.

"I will murder you with my own hands if I have to! You—"

"Father!" Gilbert yelled, standing behind a guard. "Please do not be so harsh with my little brother!" He said. "He has been working very hard for the past few days!"

"You will be first to die if you continue to speak, Gilbert!" Germania said, without a hesitation.

Ludwig usually kept quiet when his father had this outbursts, but today, Ludwig chose not to... especially when he spoke those words which were just the words to make Ludwig blow.

"How could you say that to your own son?" Ludwig hissed. "Speak as you wish with me, but mind your words when it comes to my brother!"

Germania stared and began to laugh. "Foolish child, do you believe I am afraid of you?" He asked.

"Do you think I am afraid of you, father?" Ludwig asked.

He looked at Ludwig, he saw the King's hand twitch towards the sword which was in its sheath, attached to the belt wrapped around his waist.

"I have more important things to do. I am leaving to my chamber." Ludwig turned around and walked out of the throne room, Gilbert ran after him.

Ludwig rolled his eyes as the people in the throne room started to whisper, ready to spread what had just happened around. That was another thing Ludwig hated about being a prince. The gossip.

"Thanks for trying to stick up for me, brother." Ludwig told Gilbert as they walked down the large hall.

"Kesese! No problem, but really, it was you who stuck up for me, West, as always!" Gilbert said smiling.

Ludwig smiled at him as they walked outside.

"Your Highness!" A woman yelled as she ran towards the two Princes.

Ludwig turned around. "Yes?"

"Your Highness, some more slaves have been collected from other nations and are on their way now." She said, bowing.

"What? More?" Ludwig asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yes my lord, we would appreciate it if you made your way down to the southern entrance to inspect them."

Ludwig sighed. "Yes, I will be on my way in a moment." This was the third time this week that a group of new slaves were added to their collection. How perfect.

* * *

They walked down through the market. Feliciano was a part of the long line of slaves, with guards surrounding them, all of them walking towards the palace.

Feliciano couldn't believe what he had gotten himself into. He was minutes away from becoming a slave of the murderer King. His stomach twisted as he thought of it. He know he wanted to find a way to get to the King, but he didn't expect this to be the way.

His full name is Feliciano Vargas, he's from Northern Italy. His parents were both Italians but for some reason, he was born with golden eyes. He have lived for sixteen years and his parents were killed when he was very young, so his grandfather Romulus raised him. He has short smooth auburn hair with a curl on the left side of his head. He's not tall and skinny, a little too skinny.

When Feliciano was four years old both of his parents were murdered by the King Germania, for a reason his grandfather Romulus never mentioned. But all he know is that his grandfather will never forgive the King and Feliciano won't either. Since his grandfather was the one who raised him and being the father of two boys, Feliciano and his older brother Lovino was raised much like a Roman soldier.

But Feliciano considered that a good thing. After all, the little Italian learned how to fight like a soldier and his skills were clearly enough to scare off anyone who tried to hurt him. And honestly, that's why Feliciano was willing to become a slave for the King, so somehow, he can somehow make that King pay for all the murders he has committed. It sounds impossible for the little man. But somehow, he would do it. Somehow.

"There you go again Feliciano-kun. Why does your hand always ball up into a fist when it's quiet?" Kiku said smiling.

Kiku is a Japanese boy, but poor, his parents were also dead, and that is why he is there. Kiku is the only friend Feliciano have; they've known each other for three years now.

"Nothing, Kiku." Feliciano said..

"You know Feliciano-kun, you are so handsome. Why don't you act more elegant? The King might mistake you as a princess and get you married to his son." Kiku said again.

"Ve? As if that could really happen." Feliciano said trying to smile.

They had walked quiet a distance, and Feliciano could finally see the palace that he had never seen before. It was as big as he had imagined it to be so he wasn't surprised. There were many people walking around the market, probably slaves and other low class people, but a lot of them had smiles on their faces.

As they entered the palace gates, they were guided to a large area with many people walking around,rushing around, would be more like it. And as soon as the guards told them they had arrived, the other slaves sat down to rest their feet which were probably aching because of they long walk. They ended up sitting there for quite a while, not doing anything.

"Everyone up!" A guard yelled.

They all got up immediately and Feliciano saw a man with glasses and a mole on his face, holding a long stick. "Stand in a line fools!" He yelled.

They stood together in a line, Feliciano was at the end and Kiku was in front of him.

The man went to the first person and asked. "What is your name?"

The old woman said something, but no one could hear.

"Speak louder you old hag!" The man yelled.

"He sounds really evil..." Kiku whispered to his friend.

The man turned around "What did you say?"

Kiku jumped, frightened by the man. "Umm, nothing Sir..."

"I'll tell you what, young Asian boy, how about I teach you how to act when it comes to talking with people who are higher than you in class." He said.

"Rule number one…" The man took his stick and hit Kiku's hard on the leg.

Kiku shouted in pain and bent down, grasping his now leg.

"Only talk when you are told too!" The man yelled again "Rule number t—"

"Please stop! That was not necessary!" Feliciano found himself yelling.

He was so used to sticking up for himself that he forgot about that whole status thing. "How dare you hit my friend like that?"

The man looked at Feliciano, furious. "You insolent little brat! How dare you speak to me like that?"

He grabbed Feliciano's arm tightly and pulled the boy out of his spot in the line. "Do you know who I am? I am Roderich Edelstein from Austria!"

Feliciano pulled his arm away. "I don't care. I want you to apologize to my friend!"

Roderich's violet eyes widened in shock and anger. He grabbed Feliciano's arm again and suddenly, the little Italian felt a sharp pain on his back. The pain rushed through him but he merely twitched. He had felt pain worse than this before.

Feliciano tried to pull away, but Roderich's grip on him was stronger this time.

"Let go of me!" Feliciano cried.

Roderich yelled, hit Feliciano again and again and again. He felt the blood drip down his skin.

"Why do you not scream in pain?" He asked. "Scream! You fool!" Roderich yelled and hit Feliciano again.

Feliciano bit his lip . All the other new slaves stepped back, he saw the fear in their eyes. He then saw Kiku's eyes fill up with fear; he was upset that Feliciano had protected him.

Roderich was clearly furious that Felicaino hadn't screamed. He turned around, and called at a man who was walking by, rolling a small cart with a large pot on it. The man turned around and Felicano saw him shudder.

"Bring that pot over here!" Roderich said.

The man hesitated, but obeyed. He looked at Feliciano with a sad, apologetic expression.

"I will teach you what happens when you don't respect me!" Roderich opened the pot and the steam rushed out.

He grabbed both Feliciano's hands, standing behind the scared man and pushed Feliciano over towards it. Roderich let go of Feliciano's arms and grabbed his shoulders, pushing the boy over the pot.

Feliciano grabbed the edge of the pot with his hands, gasping when it burned his palms, and then he smelled it. In the pot was boiling hot oil. He gasped again, trying to push back, but Roderich was much too strong for him to push away. He heard people gasp and say god's name multiple times, and he heard Kiku let out a small cry for help. Roderich placed one hand on the back of Feliciano's head. He was going to burn the boy's face.

Feliciano's heart raced in fear as he grabbed the rim of the pot, burning his hands, and tried to push himself away. This was going to be painful. Bubbles of oil popped, splattering small droplets onto his skin and he bit his lip. He couldn't breathe for a second and he could feel the excruciating heat at his nose. Feliciano tightly closed his eyes, feeling the pain as his face started to heat up and he heard Roderich yelling.

Then Feliciano heard the voice of a man, a deep voice, which sounded so demanding and strong. And the second Feliciano heard him, he knew the man was his hero.

"Mister Edelstein! What in the name of God, do you think you are doing?" Ludwig asked.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: Ludwig's kindness**

Ludwig came just in time. He noticed Roderich is always a despicable person but that was going way past the line.

"Mister Edelstein! What in the name of God, do you think you are doing?"

Ludwig grabbed Feliciano's hand and at the same time and he pushed the boy away from the pot. The Italian flew onto the floor, gasping in pain. At that moment, Ludwig saw the boy burnt palms and his shocked, red, sweat covered face.

"But, Ludwig! He was being so ungrateful! I was just trying to teach this fool a lesson!" Roderich said.

"By trying to kill him?" Ludwig frowned. "You must be a crazy to think that I don't know what you were trying to do."

"But—"

"Mister Edelstein, I have always thought that the fact that you beat them was too much, what do you expect me to say to this?" Ludwig held out his hand to the asian boy on the floor who had small tears in his eyes. Kiku hesitated, but then he took Ludwig's hand and got up; he limped a bit, and walked to his friend and Feliciano hugged him.

Ludwig also noticed that the limping asian boy had peaceful face and brown eyes. He looked young, maybe fifteen. His skin was the same colour as Ludwig, pale. Then he looked at Feliciano. The golden-eyed boy also had a peaceful face but he was taller. He was quite a beauty and handsome, his hair was auburn colour with a weird curl. He looked a little older than the limping asian boy, he looked about sixteen.

Ludwig realized that there was something about those eyes; they looked filled with determination and strength. That gave him some evidence as to why that boy might have challenged Roderich. Ludwig saw the blood drip out of Feliciano's nose, he was more hurt than Ludwig thought he was, the heat of the oil must have been bad. But unlike the other slave, Feliciano hadn't shed a single tear, all Ludwig saw was anger.

"Guard!" Ludwig yelled. A passing guard immediately ran towards him. "Go get a doctor please, and tell him to come here, say there are two boys hurt." He turned around and looked at the golden-eyed boy.

He walked over to Feliciano. "Hold your nose and breathe from your mouth." Ludwig told him, not really knowing what else Feliciano should do.

But the young Italian didn't say a word, but did as Ludwig said.

"Where else did Mister Edelstein hurt you?"

Still, not a word came out of his mouth, but slightly turned himself and Ludwig saw that the back of his dress was badly stained in blood.

Ludwig raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "The doctor is on his way to treat your wounds. So please take some rest, and wait to recover before you begin to do anything else."

Both boys nodded and Ludwig walked past them.

"Thanks for protecting me, Feliciano-kun. " Kiku whispered.

"Ve~ Don't worry about it." Feliciano replied.

_"Feliciano?" _Ludwig thought, "_What an odd name, he must be from somewhere else. It's a nice name though, different, but nice."_

Later that day Ludwig was resting on his bed when Gilbert walked in. "West, why are you sleeping so early?" He asked, even though it had gotten late.

"I'm not sleeping." Ludwig replied as he got up.

"You seem dazed brother, what's wrong?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, there was this person—" Ludwig started.

"Oh! My little brother's in love! Awesome! Who is it? Which nation is she the princess of? I wanna see—"

"No! You fool! There's no love involved! He's a boy! It was this maid, one of the new ones! You know how evil Mister Edelstein is right?"

"Yup! That evil aristocrat!" Gilbert said proudly.

Ludwig could tell his brother was remembering some cruel things that Roderich has done.

"Well, Mister Edelstein had beaten this boy so much and even tried to kill him but I stopped him." Ludwig said.

"Wow, what a mean man, we should do something about him." Gilbert groaned.

"Yes, but father likes it when people are abusive, remember?" Ludwig said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh yeah..." Gilbert sighed.

"Anyways, that boy did not cry even one bit!"

Gilbert looked at Ludwig "So what? Do you like seeing people cry?" he asked.

"No! It's just, he was really skinny, he didn't look strong at all, so I was impressed that he was able to hold it in!" Ludwig fell back on his bed beginning to daze off again.

"Wow." Gilbert said. "I think I'd cry even if I saw something like that! I want to see this boy."

Ludwig nodded his head. "He was interesting."

Gilbert then got up and walked towards the bedroom's door, "Well, I will stop disturbing you, West. Good night!" He said. "I will see you in the morning."

"Yes, goodnight brother." Ludwig replied.

And soon, he began to drift off into his sleep.

_ "Brother! Come here! Mama wants to tell us a story!" Ludwig screamed and jumped up and down in excitement. Gilbert came running, he tripped over a couple times but he got back up and kept running._

_ "Mama!" Gilbert yelled. _

_ "Now, now dear, take your time!" The voice of their mother was soft and musical, filled with happiness; it was a voice Ludwig loved to hear. _

_ It was a beautiful day, the sun was out and the sky was blue, his mother, Gilbert and him were playing in the palace garden._

_ His mother picked up Gilbert and put him on her lap and picked Ludwig up and set him beside her. _

_ "This story is about two baby boys who lost their mother at a young age." Their mom started. Ludwig felt his stomach turn, why was he feeling like this? _

_"M-mama?" Ludwig called, and slowly turned his head, and she was was gone. Gilbert was gone as well. _

_ Suddenly it started to rain. Ludwig looked up and there was no sun. __He was alone._

_ Then he heard a scream. __He blinked hard, trying to get rid of the sound of the scream, but then he was inside the palace._

_ He heard screaming again, and again. _

_ Who was screaming?_

_ He ran towards the screaming and it lead to his father and mother's chamber. He opened the door and then saw a bed, with a body on it._

_ Ludwig slowly walked up to it and saw that it was his mother. _

_"M-mother?" Ludwig said as tears rolled down his cheek. _

_ The body turned slowly, his mother's face had tears running down her cheeks, it was swollen, her eyes were red, and blood was dripping down the side of her mouth, but she was still beautiful._

_ She touched Ludwig's face, "S-sweet child, L-Ludwig, please g-g—" Her hand dropped. _

_ "Mama? Mama? What's wrong? Ma?" Ludwig cried and cried, then he felt an arm on his shoulder._

_"It's too late now, we have to move on." His father's voice shook, but at the same time it was calm. _

_ Suddenly Ludwig saw a knife at his neck. "I will kill you if you don't do as I say!" He whispered._

_ He felt blood drip down as his father slowly cut, it hurt, it was painful, but Ludwig couldn't scream, he couldn't cry, he couldn't run and he don't know why._

Ludwig jumped up, took deep breaths and wiped the sweat off his face. He looked out at the sky through the balcony in his room. The moon was high and it was dark.

"Not again…" He whispered with a sigh as he fell back down. Ludwig had this nightmare more than a hundred times now and it still scared him. He hated it. He was always trying to forget how his mother died, but it's completely impossible.

For whatever reason, whenever his father and him fight, which was almost always, he had this dream.

_"Maybe some fresh air and a nice view will do me some good."_ He thought, as he walked towards the balcony.

Personally, he think Germany looked best at night, with a bright moon out. The light breeze was really nice and he loved how quiet it is. He looked out at the beauty and watched as small animals roamed around.

He stood outside on the balcony for quite a while; suddenly he heard a noise, something that sounded like footsteps. He looked down and saw a boy, he was looking around and then his eyes met Ludwig's.

His golden-eyes stared at the Prince in shock.

* * *

Feliciano wandered around aimlessly for what seemed like forever. At first, he wouldn't admit that he was lost, but sooner or later he did. When he finally found a familiar door, it led to the outside of the palace.

Feliciano sighed in disbelief.

"Ve... How big does this palace need to be?" He muttered to himself. After all, Feliciano think that it was only truly the home to a murder King and his two sons.

He walked out of the palace and into a garden; he noticed that it seemed to be a beautiful night, so the young boy guessed that it wouldn't be a horrible idea to go for a stroll. The important stroll.

As Feliciano walked out, he noticed some guards walk by, they smiled at him but continued to walk their own way.

He looked around, it was beautiful, and there were so many flowers everywhere. And how could he not mention to his mind the way this side of the palace smelled. Beautiful. To add to the beauty, the moon looked dazzling. Absolutely lovely. It seemed as if he had never seen it so full before.

He continued to look around, a smile forming on his face. But suddenly he saw something move from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned around and looked up, and there he saw a man, looking down at his direction.

It took a while for Feliciano's eyes to adjust, but as soon as they did, he realized who he was; he was the one who saved him from Roderich.

Feliciano had never really looked at this man before, but now he could see him, the man was very handsome, especially in the moonlight. Feliciano looked at the man, he has slicked back blond hair, his eyes were a light blue and his skin was pale, a little whiter than Feliciano. He was tall and he wasn't wearing a shirt, so Feliciano could see that he was well built; he looked strong, and tough. From the way he was standing and the strength Feliciano could see, he looked like a King. Feliciano could imagine him as one easily.

Ludwig was staring at him, in what seemed like disbelief, Feliciano just looked back, a little confused. Thinking why did that man seem so shocked?

"Excuse me, Sir?" Ludwig called from the balcony.

Ludwig was too respectful, Feliciano was pretty sure he knows he's a slave, why would Ludwig refer him as 'Sir' So Feliciano continued to look at him, still confused.

"Sir, I thought I told you to wait to recover before you moved around?" Ludwig said.

Feliciano just looked at him and his stare of disbelief, turned into concern.

"Are you alright, Sir?" He asked.

Feliciano nodded his head "Ve... I am recovered, I feel well, thank you for asking and thank you for helping me this morning." Feliciano said.

Ludwig nodded his head and said, "It was my pleasure."

"Uhmm... and might I advise you Sir? I am but a filthy slave, you seem to be of high class so for your own sake, you should keep away from helping us." Feliciano said, he saw Ludwig raise an eyebrow, but Feliciano decided to turned around and walked away.

_'Maybe I should have asked for his name.'_ Feliciano thought, but then he shrugged, it's not like he was ever going to talk to the man ever again.

He wandered around for another couple of hours and then he finally found a guard who led him to the slave quarters. It wasn't like Feliciano expected, he got his own tiny room and when Feliciano say tiny he mean it.

All it had was a bed and a little space which could fit maybe 3-5 people. But it had a long curtain which covered the entrance, so he was happy; He could be alone when he wanted to. Feliciano quickly went to the bed, the bed wasn't soft and warm, but it was better than the floor. Sleep overcame the young boy soon and though his face still throbbed from the incident that morning, he slept soundly.

The next day came quickly, Kiku had already found his friend's room and he was the one who woke Feliciano up. "Hello, good morning." Kiku said. "Wake up, Feliciano-kun." He nudged Feliciano lightly and he lifted himself up.

"Good morning, Kiku~!" Feliciano said smiling. "How is your leg?"

"It's fine. Just a little swelled up, I can walk though." Kiku said as he got up to prove it to his friend.

They started the day off with normal things; Feliciano was the one who had to go get water from a large well. It was very hot that day and carrying a large pot with water in it wasn't going to make it any better for Feliciano.

When he made it to the well he pulled the water out with a bucket and filled the pot. As soon as he finished, he picked up the jar and walked as quickly as he could, he wanted to get out of the sun. The jar slowed Feliciano down a lot but he tried to walk quickly. He was almost running when he heard a familiar voice come from behind him.

"You shouldn't run, this floor is slippery when it is wet."

Feliciano ignored the voice and kept going; he hadn't fallen where it was really wet, how could he fall here?

It seemed like to him that the way back was even longer, he tried to run faster, but he couldn't. A lot of the water in the pot had spilled out, but Feliciano continued, and then he heard a weird noise.

He felt the pot fly out of his hands, and he felt himself fall backwards, he had slipped.

Feliciano heard the pot shatter and felt the water in his face, when Feliciano hit the ground, his head hit the floor hard, he thought he heard a crack. He couldn't feel anything and everything was beginning to fade away. But then, he felt warmth.

* * *

Ludwig came to fetch some water to water his mother's favourite plant and he was a little surprised to see the golden-eyed boy running on the slippery, wet clay floor.

He yelled in the boy's direction, telling him to stop running but he kept going.

_"Did he not hear me, or was he ignoring me?" _Ludwig thought, he told the boy to stop running, but Feliciano continued to run. Ludwig was about to shrug and walk away when, from the corner of his eye, he saw Feliciano slip.

He turned around and began to run towards Feliciano, almost slipping himself, but Feliciano fell too fast. The pot Feliciano was carrying smashed into hundreds of pieces and Ludwig saw the boy also hit the floor hard. Feliciano blinked a couple times, and then closed his eyes.

When Ludwig reached Feliciano, he pulled the boy into his arms, he checked the head and there was no sign of blood, so his panic decreased, a bit. He also checked Feliciano's breathing, and it was fine, a little bit of stuttering, but still fine. He felt the back of Feliciano's head, and he felt a bump. Ludwig lifted Feliciano up and carried him into the palace.

Gilbert walked by just then, "West! What happened? Who is this?" He asked.

"Brother, go find a doctor, quick." Ludwig told him.

"Uh, yes, hold on. I'll be right back." Gilbert ran off.

Gilbert came back in a few moments, a doctor behind him. The doctor examined Feliciano and said all is well.

But then the doctor chose to add in something else. "Your Highness, he is but a slave, there is no need for you to go overboard in trying to save him." He said, slightly amused. "The loss of a slave's life isn't a very big deal."

Ludwig stared at the doctor in disbelief and sent him of, what a fool.

"West, the doctor does have a point. He is a slave, why do you care so much? Even though he is cute!" Gilbert smirked.

"Brother! Slave or not, he is a human being! Everyone deserves a chance to live…" Ludwig said, angrily. "Just like mother did!"

Ludwig immediately wished he hadn't said the last part.

Gilbert and Ludwig stood in silence and then he said, "Um, West, I have some awesome work to do, I'll go now."

Ludwig nodded his head.

"And I won't tell father, he'll probably get really mad." Gilbert said grinning at his brother.

Ludwig smiled back, glad that his older brother wasn't upset with him.

After Gilbert left, Ludwig stood in the room for a short while. Maybe he was overreacting. He shook his head, _"Why does it matter? Is it wrong to worry about someone's safety? Of course not!" _He thought.

He sighed and walked out of the room and at the same time the asian limping boy walked by.

"Ah, perfect timing, Sir! Your friend has fallen down and hit his head, he is fine, but do you mind watching him?" Ludwig asked.

Kiku's cheeks turn red, "U-um, yes, of course."

Ludwig thanked him, showed Kiku into the room and walked off. As he walked through the halls, he was hoping he didn't hurt Gilbert by saying what he did. His brother was a good man, and awesome.

He guess it's true, after seeing his mother die the way she did, Ludwig can't just watch someone get hurt, maybe that is why he wanted to help the boy and maybe that is why he was panicking. When Ludwig met him the night before, the boy told him to stop helping him because he was a slave, Ludwig guess he couldn't do that, he really was too nice.

Ludwig walked down the hall, sighing and telling himself that it is okay to be nice. Suddenly, he saw his father. He stopped walking just as his father did.

"Ludwig!" He yelled.

"Yes father?" Ludwig replied.

"I am leaving Germany for a little while."

Ludwig stood there, shocked, he didn't expect that.

"I am going to visit other nation to settle some things, and I am leaving you in charge."

Ludwig stared for a second but then nodded his head. "Yes, father."

His father began to walk in his direction again and stopped when the King was next to him. "This is your chance to prove to me that you are not an ignorant fool, understood?"

Ludwig feel the voice of his father was sounded threatening, but he nodded.

"Yes, father."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: Feliciano's new friend**

Waking up in a comfortable, large bed is a beautiful thing for any slave. But when your head is throbbing in pain, it's not as beautiful as it should be for Feliciano.

"Oh! Feliciano-kun! Thank goodness! You are okay! I was so worried!" Kiku screamed, he patted Feliciano's hair and the young Italian sat there shocked.

"Ve...Kiku, what happened?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"You were running near the well, the floor was really slippery there so you slipped. You banged your head really hard! Oh, and it was the man who saved us from Roderich-san who saved you again!" Kiku said, and lightly touched Feliciano's face. "Are you feeling okay?"

"My head aches, I feel a little out of it, my back is killing me, and so are my feet. Other than that, I'm fine!" Feliciano told him.

Kiku smiled at his friend. "Hope you get better soon."

Feliciano returned his smile. "Thank you, Kiku."

"Oh, Feliciano-kun! I can't believe that man saved you again! You should see him, he is handsome." Kiku said with glitters on his eyes.

"Hmmm?" Feliciano frowned.

"That man is gorgeous and so polite; he called me 'Sir'. He's like… he is like your hero!" Kiku added, looked like he was daydreaming about Feliciano and that man. "Can you believe he's of a higher class? He's so nice. I mean, he knows we're slaves. No one has ever been so nice to us slaves. He even smiled at me. Higher class people never smile at me even in my country."

Feliciano frowned again at him. "My brother said rich people are fools, Kiku."

"But not this man, Feliciano-kun." Kiku said.

Feliciano remembered Ludwig and then shook his head. Yes, he was nice, but Feliciano couldn't believe that Ludwig was _just_ nice. There must be something he wants. Feliciano shivered at the thought of what these upper class people would want from slaves. He looked around, trying to get his mind off the type of people Feliciano hated, and noticed that they were in a bright room, and he felt so comfortable.

"Kiku, where are we?" He asked.

"Huh? I don't know, probably the room of some high class person, the bed is grand isn't it." Kiku replied.

Feliciano quickly got up. "We should leave, Kiku." He said. His head still hurted, but if Roderich saw them there, that aristocrat would probably make it worse.

Kiku left to finish some of his work, and so Feliciano walked alone in the halls.

_"I wonder what happened to the water…_ " He thought.

"You! Fool!" Someone called Feliciano and he turned around. Roderich Edelstein was marching towards the boy. Perfect.

"My... my name is Feliciano Vargas..." Feliciano said.

"What Feliciano? What kind of name is that?" Roderich yelled.

"In Italy, the meaning of Feliciano is Happy." He told Roderich.

"You? A happy person? How pathetic!" Roderich's face then changed to a mean, strict face. "Young man, what is your nickname?" He yelled.

Feliciano sighed, "Feli, but I prefer Feliciano." He told him.

"Foolishiano! Much better, young man, that is the name you go by in this palace, understood?" Roderich said.

Feliciano, of course, won't go by that name, Foolishiano means he is stupid and idiot. Roderich walked towards him and yelled at as usual. "Where is the water I asked for so long ago?"

"Mister Roderich, there was an accident." Felciano said.

"An accident?" He snapped. "You will be punished for not doing as you were told, no dinner for you and no sleep, you will clean the floor of the palace throne room tonight! Understood?"

Feliciano just nodded his head and sighed.

"Now, go help out in the kitchen." Roderich ordered.

Feliciano bowed and then walked away. He helped in the kitchen for the rest of the day. Kitchen work was probably the thing he actually liked to do. It helps the young Italian feel as if the day is passing by quickly. Before he knew it, it was already late in the evening.

He sighed and got ready to clean the throne room. He filled a large wooden bucket with water, brought a couple of cloths and walked to the throne room. Unfortunately for him, he had never seen the throne room, so when Feliciano did see it, he was shocked. It was huge.

The hours went slow now, and the moon didn't seem to move. Not even the slightest bit. It took forever to clean one tile for him, he was so tired but kept going, he had no choice. After what seemed like hours, he finally sat back. When Feliciano looked around, he noticed that he wasn't even close to done.

Feliciano looked up and put his hand on his head.

_"Just a little siesta won't kill me."_ He thought.

So Feliciano sat there for a bit, leaning against a large column and soon, he dozed off.

When he woke up, he knew he hadn't taken 'a little siesta'. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw someone doing something unbelievable. He stared in disbelief.

This was bad.

* * *

That dream haunted Ludwig again that night and he couldn't go back to sleep, so he decide that the best solution was to walk around until he got tired.

He headed down to the first floor and decided to take a shortcut through the throne room to get outside. Ludwig knew this palace inside out, so even If he wanted too, he would never get lost.

A guard was standing in front of the throne room entrance. "Your Highness, why do you wander around so late?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm just going for a walk, I can't sleep." Ludwig told him.

He bowed down and stepped aside from the throne room entrance. "Please don't wander around too late, Your Highness." He said. "For your own safety."

Ludwig nodded. "I will return to my chamber soon."

He slowly closed the door when Ludwig was in. He walked through the throne room and was surprised when he saw someone on the floor. "Oh no," he muttered as he rushed to the person.

It was a boy and Ludwig didn't recognize him until he got close. It was the golden-eyed boy, Feliciano, Ludwig think his name was. He was in a sitting position, leaning against a column, so Ludwig doubt he passed out. He looked around to see if anything had hurt the boy but there was nothing. He must be sleeping, but Ludwig wondered what was he doing there?

He looked at Feliciano for a second. The boy really was beautiful and handsome. He smiled in his sleep.

"Veee... veeee..." Feliciano moaned.

"Pfft!" Ludwig chuckled, "_At least someone's having good dreams." _ He thought.

Ludwig looked around and saw some rags and a bucket of water, he thinks the boy must have been cleaning. He shook his head. Roderich was too much, making the boy clean all this, alone. Ludwig guess he could help Feliciano out, so he picked up a rag and started scrubbing the floor.

Ludwig had wanted to try this, but of course, being the Prince, he would never be allowed to do it. He have watched the maids do this before; they would wet the cloth, drain it, drop it on the floor and clean it. They repeated this pattern over and over again. Ludwig stopped himself and leaned back. He suddenly felt stupid, he was probably the only person in the world who found this interesting but he smiled to himself and continued.

Time felt like it was passing slowly but Ludwig was getting a lot of work done. He was quite pleased with himself; the floor looked good as well. For a Prince, he was doing a great job. Not to mention how amazing of a way this was to get mind off things for him.

When Ludwig came near to finished, he sat back for a second and then continued, suddenly he heard a gasp. He quickly turned around and Feliciano was awake.

He blinked his golden-eyes a couple times and quickly got up. "What are you doing?!"

Ludwig got up and stretched his arms and legs. "I thought I would help you out."

Feliciano's eyes widened. "Pardon me?" He gasped. "You! Doing a slave's job? What are you thinking?" He looked a little scared.

"Don't be scared," Ludwig told the boy, making his voice sound as nice as possible. "I won't tell anyone you dozed off." He smiled at Feliciano, but the boy stared.

"Why do you do this? This is too much work for anyone, why would you, someone of high class, someone who is supposed to be arrogant, someone who wants the best, needs the best and gets the best, want to help me?" Feliciano sat back down and looked as if he was in deep thought.

Ludwig dropped the cloth and went over to Feliciano, he sat in front of him and said, "I really don't want the best, or need the best, but I still get the best, I guess I'm not so arrogant."

Feliciano looked at Ludwig, looking a little defeated, but smiled. "Ve... I guess not." He then bowed and said, "Thank you."

Ludwig nodded his head. "It was my pleasure. By the way, your name is Feliciano, am I right?" He asked.

Feliciano nodded his head.

"Oh… that's a nice name." Ludwig said.

"You don't need to lie. I know you don't like it." Feliciano said looking down.

"Why would you say that? It's a beautiful name. It's the name that means 'happy' in Italian, right?" Ludwig said.

Feliciano nodded his head. "Mister Roderich called me Foolishiano. You can call me that name if you prefer that." Feliciano said looking away.

"Ah, Foolishiano, a foolish person huh, but which do you prefer?" Ludwig asked, curiously.

Feliciano's head quickly turned around and looked at Ludwig, his golden-eyes were filled with happiness, but also shock.

For Ludwig, Feliciano looked absolutely beautiful and handsome, but he couldn't understand why Feliciano looked so happy.

Feliciano smiled, and said "Feliciano, I prefer Feliciano." His voice had a musical ring to it.

Ludwig felt his heart jump as he remembered his mothers' voice, as it also had a musical sound. He shook his head a bit, and then smiled. "Nice to meet you, Feliciano."

Feliciano smiled.

They sat in silence for a little while, Feliciano looked like he was waiting for Ludwig to say something, so soon the boy asked. "So, aren't you going to tell me your name?"

Ludwig looked at him in confusion. "You don't know my name?"

Feliciano slowly shook his head. Well a lot of people refer to Ludwig as 'Prince' so he guess they wouldn't know his name.

"My name is Ludwig." He said.

"Ve~ Nice to meet you, Ludwig!" Feliciano said, smiling.

Ludwig smiled, hesitantly. No one, other than people who are close to him calls Ludwig by his name.

_"Feliciano seemed to be totally comfortable with me... did he not know I was the Prince?"_ Ludwig thought.

Feliciano was strangely so happy. He had made a new friend and he thinks Ludwig was so kind. Ludwig definitely proved Feliciano's big brother's theory of high class people wrong . But that wasn't the only reason he was happy, Ludwig was the first person to ever ask him about what he wanted. For whatever reason, that made Feliciano so happy.

They finished cleaning the throne room together and Feliciano must say it looked marvelous. Plus, it was easier to clean now, since he was happy. They talked the night away, Feliciano even told Ludwig about his parents and that they were killed, but he didn't say anything about how the King was involved. He knew Ludwig felt sorry for him, so he changed the subject.

Then next day was when Feliciano heard the news of how the King was leaving for other nation. He also heard that his son will be taking over until the King came back, there was going to be an announcement when the sun is high in the sky, and he was sure to go to it. He had to see His Majesty and, of course, his royal son.

Feliciano' stomach twisted, how come he gets to be happy with a royal family? He was excited, though, because he wanted to see that family. He wanted to know who his enemies were. So, he rushed to finish his work and when the time finally came, he had no chores to do. He ran out to the palace grounds and looked up, there was a balcony high up on one of the towers of the palace. People had already begun to arrive and it was already a little crowded.

After a short moment, the space began to fill up faster. It was almost time. The young Italian's heart was jumping up and down in excitement and as Roderich the spokesperson for the King walked onto the balcony, the crowd settled down.

"Citizens of Germany, I now bring forth, our all mighty King!" Roderich said.

_"Everyone cheered and screamed, why were they cheering for that killer?"_ Feliciano thought.

He looked up and then saw the man, the King of Germany, the murderer of his parents, the man who ruined their life.

He looked just as evil as Feliciano imagined him to be, but something's wrong. He looked like someone else. Blond hair with blue eyes. However, anger overwhelmed him, but Feliciano kept calm. He stared at the King, but he was sure the King wouldn't have seen him in the crowd.

"My good people please hear me well. As you may have heard I am leaving Germany for a short time and in my absence, my son will be the temporary King, as he will need the practice for the time that he will truly be King in the future. Please welcome him into your loving hands, my people!"

Feliciano's stomach twisted in disgust, the King acted too good to be true. Feliciano turned around to leave, but then everyone began to cheer again. He quickly turned back around and saw a young man walk out onto the balcony, he wore fancy dress and had a strong figure, he also wore a cape that blew in the wind and his face was familiar but then Feliciano realized who he was looking at.

"Prince Ludwig!" The King shouted, "No, King Ludwig!"

Everyone cheered, louder than they had for the King but Feliciano stood there, shocked.

The crowd was bigger than Ludwig thought it would be. At first, he was a little nervous, but now he was happy when he saw and heard everyone's happiness.

_"Maybe I can do this."_ He thought.

Ludwig waved at the people of Germany and they cheered louder. He saw in the crowd, men and women, babies and the elderly, children of all ages, and families gathered together. He saw hundreds of people, all of them looked so happy. These were the people that one day, he will have to protect. He want to be able to do it and he want to do it better than his father had. But, he was still new at this, so he had no idea what Ludwig was supposed to do.

He turned around and looked at his father. "Say something." He ordered.

_"Oh no."_ Ludwig thought.

He hadn't prepared anything. What was he supposed to say? Ludwig stared at the crowd and put his hand up. "Hello!" He said smiling; everyone cheered, and he heard some friendly laughter. But everyone began to bow.

The thousands of people fell to their knees. Ludwig was amazed, when it comes to worshiping a King; these people knew how to do it.

Ludwig looked around stunned, everyone sat there, everyone but one. He recognized the boy immediately, it was Feliciano. He saw Ludwig look at him and he quickly turned away, then he ran off.

Ludwig watched Feliciano run off, confused but decided not to think much of it. Maybe he had something important to do. He turned to his father who looked mad; he guessed his father was mad with his introductory speech.

Gilbert, however, couldn't control his giggles. Ludwig wanted to laugh as well but he didn't, not when his father was angrily watching him.

When the announcement was over they all headed inside, Ludwig was told just now that there was going to be some sort of party. He wasn't looking forward to it. It was going to be late at night and Ludwig wanted to get as much sleep as possible, but skipping the party wasn't an option. He spent the rest of the day wandering around waiting for the party. But to be honest, he wasn't sure if that was what he was really waiting for.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: Ludwig's anger**

Pacing around the kitchen, Feliciano waited for an order, quickly finished it and then waited for another one. He couldn't believe that Ludwig was the Prince. How could Feliciano not have been able to tell? His attitude, his clothing, the way Ludwig talks, his politeness, all of those should have given it away. Feliciano felt so foolish; he couldn't believe that the son of the King made him so happy.

"Feliciano-kun, can you believe it? The man who saved us was the Prince." Kiku seemed pleased with that, Feliciano on the other hand, was furious. How could Feliciano have been so nice to the son of the King?

Kiku soon seemed to notice Feliciano's anger. "Feliciano-kun, are you okay?"

Feliciano turned his head. "Yes." He mumbled.

Kiku just nodded his head and looked away.

Feliciano continued to run around until he heard his weird name called. "Foolishiano! Kiku!" Roderich yelled.

Both Kiku and Feliciano turned around at the same time. They bowed and said, "Yes, Mister Roderich?"

"You two heard of the banquet which is going to take place, did you not?" Roderich asked.

Kiku and Feliciano nodded.

"Well, we need slaves to go around as waiter; you two shall be two of them, alright?" Roderich said.

Kiku and Feliciano looked at each other and hesitated.

"That was an order! Now go clean yourself up and get dressed, the banquet which will begin as soon as the sun sets." Roderich yelled. He then led the two boys to a dressing room.

There were about eight other slaves in the room. They dress up in colour red and gold sleeveless shirt, showing their smooth chest and a dark long super tight pants that showing the curve of their round ass and they were splashed with perfume. Feliciano felt ridiculous. When he was all dressed, however, Feliciano looked in a mirror and all his worries faded away. He looked wonderful.

When the banquet had started, the throne room was already filled with people. Feliciano served the beverages and he was told that he must be fast, so he rushed in with the drinks. When he walked in, he heard and saw many men begin to grin. Right then, Feliciano looked around and realized why they were dressed ridiculously. There were maybe ten high class women in this gathering of over a hundred people, the rest were men. They were dressed like that to please the perverted men.

Feliciano sighed, he didn't like this one bit. But soon, he didn't have time to worry about anything. As he passed the beverages around he had to run in and out of the kitchen continuously. Even though he was running around, he was forced to try to be as graceful as he could. Roderich had cursed Feliciano enough time for his clumsy walk.

When Feliciano ran back to the kitchen again for what he hoped was the last time for a little bit, he was given a large cup. "This is for the King." He was told by one of the cooks.

Feliciano hesitated a bit and walked out; he didn't rush this out time and it was at that moment when he noticed him. Prince Ludwig.

He was standing on the other side of the room, looking at Feliciano. He ignored Ludwig and walked to the King. He put the cup in front of the King and bowed. Then walked away. As quickly as he possibly could, fighting away the temptation to take the glasses and smash them against the King's head.

Then, a man called Feliciano to take a bunch of empty glasses and refill them. So he took them and headed towards the kitchen. When Feliciano came out with some more glasses filled with more drinks on a large tray, his eyes searched for the men who had given them to him. Then, his eyes reached the King, Feliciano regretted looking at him immediately.

King Germania was looking at him, up and down. Feliciano quickly turned around, disgusted, but somewhat scared. He slowly looked back, and the king looked away. Suddenly, feeling safe, Feliciano's anger took control. How dare the King look at him like that? The man who killed his parents.

Feliciano stepped forward, muttering something, but not paying attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, a man appeared in front of him, the man's back towards Feliciano.

He stopped himself quickly, preventing himself from bumping into the man. But that quick stop was enough for the glasses on the tray in his hand to tip over. All of them shattered, the hall went silent, and everyone turned. Feliciano heard mumbling, he saw the King's furious eyes and then suddenly, there was a shout. "I'm so sorry!"

* * *

Ludwig was standing on the other side of the room pretending to listen to the lecture of one of the high classed nobles, when he saw Feliciano. He was dressed so strangely but he looked beautiful and handsome.

He watched as Feliciano ran in and out of the kitchen, then finally their eyes met but he looked away immediately. Ludwig felt frustrated, he didn't know why though. But, he continued to glance as Feliciano walked out with his father's glass.

Ludwig began to walk towards Feliciano but then he quickly turned around when he realized how stupid he felt. "_Why was I watching him?" _He thought.

Ludwig looked away for a while but for whatever reason he turned back around and at that second, he wished he hadn't. Ludwig saw Feliciano look at his father, who looked at him, up and down.

Ludwig stared in disgust. His father was disgusting. Looking back at Feliciano, and saw anger on his face, and even fear. But he quickly turned around and stepped forward. Ludwig found himself opening his mouth to warn Feliciano of the nobleman who was standing in his way, but it was too late.

Feliciano stepped back quickly and the glasses on his tray fell off. They all shattered. Everyone turned around, the hall fell silent and everyone stared at him. His father got up.

_"Damn it!"_ He thought. "_He'll definitely do something to him!"_

Ludwig tried to think as fast as he could and he had an idea. "I'm so sorry!" Ludwig yelled, as he ran towards Feliciano.

Feliciano looked at him, angry and confused. Then, without a word, he looked down and dropped to the ground and began picking up the shards of glass.

Ludwig stopped and turned around. "Please, continue with the banquet, I bumped into this young man and made him drop the glass, forgive me." He turned around and sat down and helped Feliciano pick up the shards. "Play along." Ludwig whispered.

"Your Highness, you were standing on the other side of the room…" A high priest said.

"No sir, I was standing on that side," Ludwig pointed at the opposite side, "then I rushed to this side and I bumped into him!" Ludwig lied.

"Oh, well then, please your Highness, cleaning up a mess isn't the job for you. Please let a slave do it." The high priest said.

Ludwig looked at Feliciano but he didn't look at him. "Well in that case, please find someone to clean this up" Ludwig requested.

A man walked up to them, he was the son of a rich man in France. "Maybe we should teach this boy to watch out for men." He said grinning.

The man then surprised Ludwig by grabbing Feliciano's hand and pulling him up. He pulled Feliciano towards him and held Feliciano close. Then, he started touching Feliciano's round ass.

"Can you be my sex slave, pretty boy?" The man smirked.

Feliciano stared at him in disgust, trying to pull away, the same way he stared at Ludwig's father.

Anger boiled up inside Ludwig. He got up and pulled Feliciano away from the man and Ludwig pushed him back. "My good Sir," He said, angrily, "keep your hands off of him, is that understood?"

The man looked at Ludwig for a moment, shocked. Soon, he nodded, "Yes, your highness, I'm sorry." He said angrily and walked away.

Still not saying a word, Feliciano sat back down and began picking up the glass shards again.

As Ludwig looked at Feliciano, he felt his father's stare. "Ludwig!" He yelled, but made it sound kind and fatherly.

King Germania walked up to Ludwig and put his hand on his shoulder. "My son, why do you pity a mere slave? Why don't you just let him take the blame, it saves you some time and respect!" He whispered.

Ludwig looked at Germania. "Father, why should he take the blame for a mistake which he did not make?" He asked.

His father looked at him, angry of course. "Well—" He started.

"No, Your Majesty!" Ludwig heard Feliciano say from behind him.

Ludwig turned around.

"The Prince is lying. I truly am the one who dropped this, on my own. He did not bump into me!" Feliciano looked at Ludwig for a second, and then looked away.

Ludwig felt his stomach turn. "_What?"_ He thought. "_Does he want both of us to be murdered?"_ Ludwig had to think of something quick, or else, his father would have his head for lying and Feliciano for interrupting the King while he was talking.

"What? My friend?" Ludwig said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "Please don't be afraid for me. I will not be hurt for breaking glass!" Ludwig said as he pushed Feliciano away from his father. "But you will." He muttered in Feliciano's ear. "I am so pleased with your kindness!" Ludwig said loudly.

"Ludwig_,_ where are you going?" King Germania asked.

Ludwig looked around and saw Feliciano's bloody fingertips. "To the doctor father, this young man has wounded himself trying to clean up this mess!" Ludwig said, hesitating.

"Must you go along?" King asked crossing his arms. He was clearly neither pleased with this act.

"Of course!" Ludwig said. "I feel that it is my fault that this boy has cut himself, and to show him my gratitude for feeling fear for me, I will go along." Ludwig said, and before his father could say anymore, they were out of the throne room.

Ludwig felt like a total fool.

Feliciano tried to pull away but Ludwig was too strong. He pushed him out of the large throne room and finally let him go. Feliciano turned around and then Ludwig grabbed his arm, he began pulling him somewhere. Ludwig didn't look at him or say a word so Feliciano began to get nervous. Ludwig was probably upset with him for telling the King the truth but what was Ludwig going to do with him?

Feliciano tried to pull away but Ludwig's grip just tightened. "Veee! Where are you taking me?" Feliciano asked.

"To a doctor." Ludwig said, still looking forward. Feliciano stared for a bit but Ludwig still didn't turn around. "_I have to be careful," _He thought, "_he might be lying."_

They walked in silence for a few minutes. They were walking in a familiar hallway and stopped at a familiar door. Ludwig knocked on the door and it slowly opened. A man with a kind, funny face and wearing a white mask walked out, "Ah, your Highness!" He said bowing.

Feliciano recognized the voice immediately; he was the doctor who treated him on the first day he came in the palace.

"Doctor Sadik, why did you not come to the banquet?" Ludwig asked.

"Oh dear, I couldn't even think about it!" Sadik said as he ran his hands through his own black hair. "I have a wife and two sons, I wouldn't be the husband or father my family wants if I'm running around partying all the time." He said winking.

Ludwig nodded. "You are a good man Doctor Sadik. You're family must be grateful."

"Ahh, I only wish." Sadik said, laughing loudly. "Oh and your Highness, please forgive me if you are insulted by me not showing up"

Ludwig shook his head. "No, no. Please, don't worry about it."

"So what brings you here?" Sadik asked looking at Feliciano.

"Well, during the banquet, this boy dropped a tray filled with wine glasses and attempted to clean the mess with his bare hands." Ludwig said showing Feliciano's hand to Sadik.

Feliciano felt uncomfortable but cooperated; honestly his fingers did hurt.

Sadik examined his hand, he slowly moved Feliciano's fingers around and then squeezed them, blood oozed out of two of his fingers. "Hmm, the fingers seem to all be cut up, but I think you might have some glass in them." He said. "What is your name young man?"

"Umm, Foolishiano." Feliciano said.

"What a weird name." Sadik shocked.

"His real name is Feliciano. Mister Edelstein is the one who invented that name. He's from Italy ." Ludwig said.

Feliciano quickly turned his head and looked at Ludwig, his face looked hard and serious, no joke intended. He still didn't look at him.

"Wow, what a beautiful name!" Sadik said, smiling, but then turned to Ludwig. "Your Highness, why don't you return to the banquet? I will take care of Feliciano."

Ludwig nodded "Please tell Katyusha I say hi."

Sadik smiled and nodded. "Of course."

Ludwig said goodbye and then walked away. Sadik invited Feliciano in and sat him on a chair next to a table. "Now young man, you are the boy who got beaten by that Roderich and didn't cry at all, am I correct?" He asked Felicano putting his hand on his chin.

"Yes, I am." Feliciano said, proudly.

He laughed, "I knew it!" He turned around and pulled out a small dish and a pair of tweezers, he put it on the table and walked into another room.

"Darling? What's wrong?" Feliciano heard a woman say.

"A boy has gotten glass into his fingers. I'm just going to help him take it all out." Sadik said.

About a minute later a tall woman walked out of the room, she was absolutely beautiful. She had a perfect face with big blue eyes. Her hair was short blonde with a green headband and clips, and she had big boobs. She wore a long dress that went down to her toes.

Feliciano got up and bowed, she truly looked like a Queen. "Oh, my dear! Please, there's no need for that." She said cheerfully.

"But señora—" Feliciano started.

"Please, Please, just call me Katyusha!" She said taking Feliciano's hand "What your name dear?"

"Foolishiano..." He said.

"How weir—"

"No dear, his real name is Feliciano. Roderich named that poor boy Foolishiano." Sadik said as he poked his head out of the room and winked at Feliciano.

"Feliciano? That's different… I love it!" Katyusha said, smiling so all her beautiful teeth were showing.

"Oh, and the Prince said hello." Sadik said.

"Oh my, I missed him, didn't I?" Katyusha asked frowning.

Sadik laughed. He walked back out of the room with some bandages and needles. He told Feliciano to sit down and hold his hand out. It took quite a while to get the glass out, clean the wounds and then bandage them but Sadik sat there and did it patiently.

Feliciano was happy with the respect that the couple gave him. Any other doctor wouldn't have taken their time because he is, after all, just a slave. As soon as they finished they even offered Feliciano food. "No thank you!" He said. He thanked them and then left.

He walked out of the hallway and into the palace garden, roaming around for a bit and then he sat down on a beautiful fountain made completely of marble. He just sat there and stared at the sky. The moon was out already and the crickets were chirping. There was a nice, light breeze and the flowers made the air smell amazing.

Feliciano sat there, deep in thought when he heard a noise. He turned around, and glared.

* * *

After dropping Feliciano with Doctor Sadik, Ludwig returned to the banquet. But soon, he decided to go for a walk; some feeling inside him urged him to leave the banquet. The throne room was packed with high class men, drinking away. He was still hungry so he picked up a piece of sausage and a glass filled with beer and rushed out. He felt his father's stare but ignored it.

Time started to move so fast as soon as Ludwig took Feliciano to Doctor Sadik. The moon was already high in the sky and he could hear the crickets couldn't help but wonder why Feliciano had told his father he was lying when Ludwig did it for his sake. He began to get frustrated. Italian had always been so confusing.

Ludwig took a sip of the cool beer which seemed to cool him down. He wandered around for a while, until he began to smell the flowers, he was finally in the palace garden. The smell of the flowers was so strong that it completely calmed him down. It was exactly what he needed. He walked down the stone path which led to the fountain that his mother had designed and then he suddenly felt his heart jump when he saw someone sitting at the edge of the fountain.

Ludwig squinted a bit to see who it was, and then he saw the person turn. The second Ludwig saw the boy's eyes he knew who it was.

Feliciano's golden-eyes were glaring at him.

_'Glaring?'_ Ludwig thought to himself, he rolled hid eyes and walked towards Feliciano. He quickly turned his head around when Ludwig sat on the floor next to him. "What?" Ludwig asked, nicely.

"Nothing." Feliciano answered.

Ludwig sipped some beer and then sat quietly. After a while, he heard a loud roaring noise. He turned around and looked at Feliciano whose eyes were wide open, then Ludwig laughed. "Someone's hungry?" He asked.

Feliciano didn't respond, instead he looked away again.

"Here." Ludwig said as he held out the sausage, "I didn't take a bite out of it or anything." Feliciano wouldn't take it, so Ludwig dropped it on his lap. "Eat!" Ludwig said. He put the beer beside Feliciano and looked away. He saw from the corner of his eye, Feliciano pick up the sausage and take a bite out of it. He still looked mad, maybe now was a good time to ask him why.

Ludwig waited for Feliciano to swallow and then he took a big gulp of beer. As soon as he seemed able to talk Ludwig asked, "So, why did you try to get us both killed by my father?"

"What?" He asked.

"I was only trying to help you." Ludwig said.

"I don't need help from the likes of you." Feliciano said looking away.

"Really? It didn't look like it, you were shaking all over!" Ludwig said, looking away.

Ludwig saw Feliciano get up, "Excuse me?"

Ludwig got up too. "What?" He said, looking right at him.

Feliciano looked really mad "You! Why did you hide the fact that you are a Prince from me?" He asked, almost yelling.

"What?" Ludwig asked. "I didn't hide anything from you."His blue eyes widened. Is that why Feliciano was mad, because Ludwig was the Prince?

"Yes you did!" Feliciano said. "You didn't say a word to me about you being a Prince!" He was glaring at Ludwig and standing on the tips of his toes. His face was so close to Ludwig and Feliciano looked like he wanted to slap Ludwig.

"How was I supposed to know that you didn't know?" Ludwig asked him, taking a step back.

Feliciano hesitated. "Well, you should have told me!"

"Huh! You should have asked!" Ludwig said, trying not to yell.

"Why you! You are just as spoiled as my big brother thought you would be!" Feliciano said moving away. He turned around and began pacing, "You are stupido, and you have no clue who you are dealing with." He looked at Ludwig and turned back around. "Sei un cretino (You are fool), I can't believe I trusted you..." Feliciano went on and on, Ludwig tried to keep calm but his head began to feel hot.

_"What on earth was wrong with this boy? Does he know I can understand Italian? Where was he getting all these insults from? He doesn't even know me!" _He thought.

"You are weak and so, so…" Feliciano waited and thought of the word, but Ludwig didn't let him say it.

"Pardon me young man. Your rudeness is unbelievable!" Ludwig groaned.

Feliciano looked at Ludwig.

"Think about this before you answer, tell me one good reason that I would have to hide the fact that I am a Prince from you? Why would it benefit me if you didn't know I was a Prince? I didn't hide a thing from you and I had no intention of doing so!"

Feliciano looked at him and he turned around, Ludwig stared at the floor for a bit and walked away.

As Ludwig walked away, the words of his father repeated in his head _'You are too kind! How will you rule a nation if everyone takes advantage of your kindness?' _

His father was always right about that. Ludwig wished he could be meaner, only then will people really treat him like a strong man, or even their future king. That night Ludwig had that nightmare again. He wandered around all night until the sun had began to rise. His father left as soon as the sun was completely out and the second he left, Ludwig became King.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: The Iron Cross Necklace**

Feliciano kept thinking of the amount of relief he felt when the Prince had asked him, "Tell me one good reason that I would have to hide the fact that I am a Prince from you?" He still don't know why.

He think it was because Ludwig was right, why would he? He was a good person, unlike his father. The day that Feliciano told him about his parents and how they were killed, Ludwig felt complete sympathy for him. Feliciano should have understood that and respected Ludwig.

It has been two days since Ludwig had become King, it was only temporary but Feliciano noticed everyone trying to make the best of it, at least while it lasted. Everyone was happy; they all smiled and talked freely. Feliciano was given more work than usual but he saw Ludwig over and over again while he did them. He wanted to say sorry to Ludwig but the only problem was that he looked right past Feliciano when Ludwig walked by. Not to mention the fact that more guards were always by Ludwig's side. But that wasn't the only change in Ludwig.

One thing Feliciano was sure of was the fact that Ludwig looked so much stronger. He carried a sword which was sheathed into a belt which wrapped around his waist and he wore an iron cross necklace and he didn't wear a fancy dress like his father. He's wearing a gold vest with a red cape hanging on the back of his shoulders. He looked like the most handsome young man in Germany.

Feliciano continued to try and talk to Ludwig but it was no use. Either Ludwig looked right past him or Feliciano was stopped by a guard. He was beginning to get frustrated but he decided that he shouldn't. He completely deserved this. He felt terrible, Ludwig had helped him three times in one night, first after he dropped and broke all the glass then by taking him to the doctor and finally, giving him food, and to repay Ludwig, he called him terrible names. Feliciano continued to beat himself up for the past three days but he didn't feel any better.

At noon, he was told to go to the palace garden and pick out the weeds. He was a little happy with this, since he could be in a calm, quiet place. When he arrived though, he realized why Roderich made him come out there. The sun was at its hottest, right on top of him. He could feel the blazing heat but Feliciano knew he had no choice but to work.

He worked for what seemed like a long time but the weeds kept coming. He finally was too tired to work and found himself lying on the floor.

_"I must have fallen."_ Feliciano thought to himself.

He couldn't feel anything but the heat. He pulled his hand up and put it on top of his face to shield his eyes from the sun. "_A little siesta won't kill me."_ He thought.

Feliciano dreamed that dream continuously, ever since he first came in the palace. He was walking, no, running, around the palace garden. He was jumping up and down, for some reason he was happy. He saw many people, but one person he could see better than the rest. That person was glowing, sparkles flew all around. Feliciano smiled at the person and then he suddenly fell down. He stayed down on the soft floor and looked at the clouds. He felt strange happiness, he don't know why. Then it unexpectedly got dark.

He opened his eyes when he felt himself under some sort of shadow.

"_A cloud?"_ He thought. He blinked a couple times and what he saw was no cloud. It was something that is a hundred times more beautiful than any cloud.

Prince Ludwig, or should he say, the King, looked at him with a concerned look. As soon as Ludwig noticed Feliciano was awake, he held Feliciano's hand out. He took it immediately and Ludwig pulled him up. He was really strong, Feliciano felt no struggle when he pulled him up and it was a quick smooth movement.

He took that moment to Feliciano's advantage, they were alone and Ludwig was looking at him, now he can say his sorry.

* * *

Ludwig tried to ignore Feliciano for the past three days but it was hard. He thinks Feliciano deserved it though, after being so rude, why should he be nice to the boy? Besides, Ludwig had more important things to deal with. He had a pile of work to do and he had to do them fast. It was a lot of work and very tiring.

While Ludwig walked around the palace, he saw more slaves standing outside their rooms, as usual, they would wave and smile at him. The only difference was that they would greet him as 'Your Highness'.

Ludwig returned a smile to them and then the slave women ran off jumping up and down giggling.

_"Weird_." Ludwig thought.

Being the King wasn't too tough to him though, it was probably more annoying than tough. You are always asked, 'Your Majesty, would you like this?' or 'What can I do for you my King?' and so on. There were also guards always following him, even when Ludwig need to go to the bathroom.

It was this afternoon, when he was finally left alone. He decided to spend his alone time at his mothers' fountain. The sun was high in the sky and the heat was unbelievable today in Germany. Wearing the armor vest didn't make it any better to him. He walked around and noticed that barely any people were out; He guessed it was because of the heat.

_"Nice, I'll be alone, peace and quiet_." Ludwig thought, and then he stumbled over something. It was a large knife. Ludwig looked around and saw someone on the floor. Startled by the fact that there was a knife and a boy on the floor, his heart began to panic. He ran up to the boy and realized it was Feliciano.

He surprised himself by rolling his eyes. "_Again? Really?" _He sighed.

But Ludwig still felt uneasy, maybe he's asleep like the day he was cleaning the throne room. He felt Feliciano's forehead, and it was blazing, he touched Feliciano's face and then his eyes and he didn't twitch. Ludwig looked around; everything seemed to have been dropped.

"He's unconscious…" Ludwig muttered to himself. He didn't know what to do, he leaned over Feliciano, trying to give him some shade and he tried calling his name. Ludwig looked around trying to see if anyone was there to help, but he saw no one.

At that moment he saw Feliciano move. He turned his head quickly and saw Feliciano blinking his golden-eyes. After about a minute, he closed them tightly and opened them again. Feliciano stared at him, shocked.

Ludwig got up and held his hand out, without saying a word. Feliciano didn't hesitate to take it. Ludwig easily pulled him up and noticed Feliciano was still staring. He felt uncomfortable.

Feliciano began to wobble a bit and he looked like he was about to fall. "_Get him out of the sun."_ Ludwig thought. Feliciano continued to wobble, so Ludwig knew making him walk was a bad idea, so he picked Feliciano up.

"W-what?" Feliciano asked, startled, but Ludwig ignored him. He walked Feliciano to the fountain, trees were planted to circle the fountain, so it was shady enough there. Ludwig sat him on the edge of the fountain, and he sat next to the boy. Feliciano's hand was tightly gripping one of Ludwig's arms, and he held Feliciano up with the other.

Ludwig let go and as soon as he did, Feliciano tipped backwards, almost falling into the water, Ludwig grabbed Feliciano's hand and put Ludwig's other hand behind the boy's head, Feliciano still held onto his arm, so tight that Ludwig could feel that Feliciano probably stopped the blood from flowing to the rest of Ludwig's hand.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Ludwig asked, as he felt Feliciano's weight being pushed back onto his hand.

"L-light headed." He said, with his eyes closed.

Ludwig looked at his face, it was pale, and he looked like he was going to vomit. "_Not good."_ Ludwig thought. He took a little water in his free hand and wiped it on Feliciano's face, slowly, so Ludwig wouldn't startle him. Feliciano didn't twitch at all; he just kept his eyes closed.

Ludwig could feel the cool water and he knew it made Feliciano feel better too. He splashed some water on Feliciano's neck as well and soaked his head and hair a bit as well. "How do you feel now?" Ludwig asked.

"Much better." Feliciano said, in a quiet voice that sounded a bit dreamy.

Feliciano let go of Ludwig's hand and he felt the 'needles' feeling as the blood began to flow into it again. Feliciano sat himself up properly and Ludwig let go of him. "Well, I'm done." Ludwig said getting up to leave.

"Wait!" Feliciano said, he grabbed Ludwig's hand and pulled him back down onto the fountain. Ludwig felt unbalanced for a second and almost fell in, but he didn't.

He looked at Feliciano, with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Vee! Sorry!" Feliciano almost yelled, "I'm so sorry, I'm such a fool, I can't believe how disrespectful I was to you! I'm the one who is an idiot for calling you so many rude names. I'm really, really sorry. Please forgive me! I also want to thank you for all your help! Please don't be mad! I'm so sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sor—"

Ludwig smiled, "Okay, okay, calm down!" He covered Feliciano's mouth with his hand. "I get it… you really know how to say sorry."

"Ve... You forgive me?" Feliciano asked, his face brightening up.

"Yes." Ludwig said.

Feliciano sighed loudly and placed his hand over his heart. "Thank goodness!"

They sat there for a bit, talking, like normal friends. "So, are you tired?" Feliciano asked. Ludwig looked at him confused.

"What?" Ludwig asked.

"Being the King?" Feliciano asked again.

"Oh, yeah, I'm a bit tired but it's okay. I can handle it." Ludwig said.

"First time I saw that beautiful... iron cross necklace." Feliciano said.

"You don't know this? This Eisernes Kreuz is the symbol of the royal family. Well, my father and my brother don't like to wear this necklace all the time. Do you like necklace?" Ludwig asked.

"No, I don't know about the meaning of iron cross. But I do remember that my father would always come home with some pretty necklace for me." Feliciano said, smiling to himself. He looked at Ludwig for a second than looked away.

Ludwig saw it there, in Feliciano's eyes. He wanted necklace for himself, so he can wear it. Ludwig saw the desire but it wasn't greed. Ludwig looked at Feliciano's neck. Nothing shiny hanged on him.

Ludwig remembered the night he found Feliciano asleep on the throne room floor. He remembered Feliciano tell him the story of his parents. If his parents were alive, he probably wouldn't be a slave at their palace. He would be happy. Then Ludwig thought, if his parents didn't die, he would never have met Feliciano. That second Ludwig felt strange, and he tried to think of something else.

Ludwig put his hands on his lap and staring in the sky.

"Ve~ You look good." Feliciano said.

Ludwig turned his head to him, "What?"

"Good, you, look, good!" Feliciano smiled.

"Umm, thank you…" Ludwig said.

Feliciano laughed, "You're blushing!" He said, laughing louder.

"What? How can you see if I'm blushing?" Ludwig said, embarrassed.

"You are light enough for me to see the red!" Feliciano continued to laugh. "You don't get complemented by girls very often now do you?" He asked.

"Yes, I do! And everyone blushes when they are complemented by the opposite gender!" Ludwig said, hoping that was accurate.

"I don't." Feliciano said.

"Oh? I can't believe that. As a boy who is quite handsome and...beautiful, I'd expect you get complimented often. Which means you blush often." Ludwig said.

Feliciano didn't smile or even show any sort of emotion to what Ludwig had just said. "Ve... When anyone complements me, I know they are lying, so I don't take it in. I'm a slave, why would someone complement me?"

Ludwig felt a little frustrated. "Well, have you looked in a mirror recently?" He asked Feliciano. "I am not trying to be rude." He finished.

Feliciano looked at him.

Ludwig lightly pulled Feliciano's auburn hair so his head would come close to Ludwig, then he turned Feliciano to look in the fountain. He saw both of their reflections clearly in the water. "See, that's you and that's me. You have seen a reflection before right?" Ludwig asked him.

"Yes, I'm not that stupid." Feliciano muttered.

"Can you see what I mean when I say handsome and beautiful?" Ludwig asked.

"Yes, I see you nice and clear." Feliciano nodded.

Ludwig rolled his eyes and surprised himself by hitting Feliciano on the head.

"Ow!" Feliciano yelled.

"Look, at yourself! Stupid boy." Ludwig said as he twirled his fingers in Feliciano's hair and turned his head to the water. "You are handsome and beautiful, just because you are a slave, doesn't mean you aren't good looking. Everyone is beautiful and handsome, including you." Ludwig felt a little awkward while he spoke.

"U-huh, yeah." Feliciano nodded his head sarcastically.

Ludwig rolled his eyes again. "Why don't you believe me? You have nice skin, your nose is perfect, and so is your mouth." Ludwig said. "Just learn how to use it wisely." He muttered, and Feliciano giggled.

"Your hair is nice, clean and silky. I like the colour of it and especially your curl." Ludwig continued and he saw Feliciano smile in the reflection, "And to top it all off, your golden-eyes are the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen."

Ludwig then noticed, Feliciano wasn't looking at his own reflection anymore, he was looking at Ludwig's. Feliciano turned his head to the Prince and Ludwig looked at him. Their faces were so close and for some reason, it was hard to breathe.

* * *

The Prince continued to compliment Feliciano with such ease. He wondered why Ludwig didn't hesitate even once. It made Feliciano happy, the things he said. He looked at his reflection, he guess he was a little good looking. He smiled at himself when his heart filled with happiness.

"And to top it all off, your golden-eyes are the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen." Ludwig said.

Feliciano looked at his own eyes, the eyes he feared because they were different. But then he was no longer looking at his own reflection, he was looking at Ludwig. He is the Prince of Germany; someone who Feliciano thought would be spoiled, stubborn and hateful. He was happily proved wrong. Feliciano saw Ludwig move when he noticed Feliciano was looking at the Prince's reflection rather than his own, so he turned his face to look at Ludwig.

Ludwig looked at him as well. He seemed to be uncomfortable for a second, but then eased up. They looked at each other for a while, Feliciano don't know why. His heart did maybe a hundred back flips in that little while. It was quiet; He heard only birds chirping and the breathing of Ludwig and him.

Unexpectedly, the silence was broken. "West?" Someone yelled from far away.

It startled the both of them, Feliciano turned and saw someone running towards them.

"Oi, West! What are you doing?" Gilbert yelled.

Ludwig began to panic. "Umm, umm…" He said as he looked around. Then he pulled his iron cross necklace off and dropped it in the fountain.

"My little brother, what are you doing?" Gilbert asked when he had reached them.

"I am, umm, looking for my necklace." Ludwig said.

"Eh? Why?" Gilbert asked.

"I seemed to have dropped it in mother's fountain. This boy was assisting me." Ludwig said.

Feliciano noticed the man was little taller than him and handsome. He had short light-coloured hair and crimson eyes and when he smiled Feliciano could see the dimples he had on his face. He called Ludwig ' little brother' so Feliciano assumed he was the older brother of Ludwig.

"Well West, you have a lot of awesome work to do! What were you doing here anyway?" Gilbert asked.

"Just taking a break." Ludwig replied.

"Well come on then!" Gilbert said grabbing his brothers' arm.

"Wait, what about my necklace?" Ludwig asked, looking at the fountain.

"Why don't you look for it, cutie boy?" Gilbert winked and Feliciano nodded his head.

"Oh, then I'll tell Mister Edelstein." Ludwig said as he walked away.

"Thank you." Feliciano said smiling.

Ludwig smiled too, and mouthed sorry.

Feliciano nodded and continued to smile as the two Princes walked into the palace. He looked into the water again and waited for it to stop moving. When it did, Feliciano saw his reflection again and laughed to himself.

The fountain was beautiful and while he looked at it he remembered Ludwig calling this fountain his 'mothers' fountain'. He wondered what Ludwig meant by that. Feliciano looked around, and finally found the silver shining in the sunlight at the bottom of the fountain. He slowly put his hand in the cool water and picked it up. The iron cross necklace was beautiful. He sat on the floor and leaned against the fountain. He put the necklace round on his neck.

"Ve~ _I guess I get to keep this until I meet up with the Prince again_." He thought.

Feliciano walked into the palace and he noticed a lot of slaves looking at him, well his neck to be specific. He then bumped into Kiku.

"Feliciano-kun, where have you been? Oh, it seems like it has been forever since I saw you. Why don't we—" Kiku froze. "Wow! Look at that thing." Kiku placed his hand in the iron cross necklace. "Where did you get this necklace?" He asked Feliciano, admiring it.

"Oh, it isn't mine!" Feliciano said.

"Then whose is it?" Kiku asked.

"It's the Prince's… I mean the King." Feliciano replied.

Kiku gasped, "Feliciano-kun, how could you?"

Feliciano didn't understand Kiku at first, but when he did, he held the necklace. "No, no Kiku! It's not like that! I didn't steal it!"

"Ohh...then why do you have it?" Kiku asked, still confused.

"The King accidentally dropped it in his mother's fountain and he asked me if I could find it for him." Feliciano explained.

Kiku nodded. "But why are you wearing it? You might get in trouble." He said and Feliciano realized Kiku was right.

"Maybe I'll go look for the King right now and give it to him." Feliciano said turning around.

"Okay." Kiku said. "I'll let you do that now… I don't want you to get in trouble."

Feliciano nodded as he started to run to find Ludwig.

"Bye!" Kiku yelled.

Feliciano waved without turning around.

It was moments later that he almost bumped into Roderich. "Foolishiano!" He yelled.

Feliciano immediately put his hand to hide the necklace and bowed.

"I need you to go to the market and get some things for me." Roderich said.

"But I have—" Feliciano started.

"No, you don't! Go now!" Roderich said. He gave Feliciano a list and money.

Feliciano rolled his eyes and rushed off. The market place wasn't too much of a long walk from the palace, so he could finish that and then find the Prince.

When he made it to the market place he watched all the busy people at work. Small shops were aligned side by side down the long road. It was very busy, but no one seemed to mind, everyone was smiling. He looked at the list, there were only fruits on it. So he ran to the fruit shops. As he searched the shops an unfamiliar man walked up to him.

"My, my." He said.

Feliciano turned around and looked at him. He was tall, skinny and had a scary face; he had black long, messy hair, and black eyes. "Hello, young man."

"Hello." Feliciano replied.

"Would you like to sell any jewelry?" He asked, looking at his neck.

"Uh, no sir, thank you." Feliciano said, he turned around and tried to walk away.

"Wait, boy! I pay a lot of money for your necklace." He said, he grabbed Feliciano's hand and looked at the iron cross necklace on his neck.

"Um, please don't touch m—" Feliciano begged.

"Wow, this necklace is the symbol of the royal family, you can sell it for a lot of money!"

"Sir, this necklace is not mine!" Feliciano said, getting angry.

He looked at Feliciano and then pulled the necklace and as soon as he got it he ran.

Feliciano stood there frozen for a moment. "Thief!" He finally yelled.

He looked around, no one even flinched. So he ran after him pushing anyone in the way.

_"Oh no, oh no!"_ He thought.

The slave dress he wore made it easy for him to run and he was fast enough to keep the man in sight.

"Stop!" Feliciano yelled.

He couldn't let that guy get away. He pushed many people down, and kept yelling sorry as he ran past.

"Stop, you!" He got really mad. He ran and ran after him, but the man wouldn't stop.

But when they ran into an alley, the man began to slow down. Feliciano slowed down too and tried to catch his breath. Then suddenly, two other men walked in, one was short and fat, and the other was tall and skinny, like the man who stole the necklace.

The thief stopped running and smiled at his friends. "Look, you got us a necklace, and a girl?" The short fat one said.

"I'm not a girl!" Feliciano yelled and stepped back and then the three men all ran and surrounded him.

"Ohh? You are too beautiful to be a boy!" The other man said, licking his tongue.

_"Oh, no!" _Feliciano thought. His heart was pounding hard and his hands were shaking.

"This is going to be fun." The tall skinny one said, grinning.

Feliciano tried to run but the three men all moved in towards him, Feliciano closed his eyes and felt someone pull his right hand. He then heard a crack and a scream, and he opened his eyes.

Standing in front of him was his hero, his guardian angel.

Ludwig had his hands balled up into tight fists and his face looked mad and hard. Feliciano looked around and saw the man who took the necklace on the floor. The short man and the tall man looked at each other and then charged towards Ludwig.

Feliciano screamed.

Ludwig pulled Feliciano and when he moved the short man tripped. Ludwig took his foot and kicked the short man, who flew into the tall one. The tall man struggled to push the short one off him but as soon as he did, he got up and charged at Ludwig again.

Ludwig still holding Feliciano with one hand, pulled his sword out of its sheathe with his other hand. He held it straight in front of him, and the tall man stopped and stumbled over his own feet. He fell to the floor and Feliciano think the man passed out.

Ludwig slid his sword back into its sheath and then muttered, "Weak fools." He then turned to face Feliciano.

"Why were you running after these men?" Ludwig asked, his face was still hard and angry, Feliciano could see the veins in his hands and forehead.

"I, umm." Feliciano stuttered. "What are you doing here?" He asked Ludwig.

Ludwig shook his head. He then put the hand on his head and pressed on his temples. Feliciano pressed his lips into a thin line and realized that he shouldn't question him, he should thank the Prince.

"Thank you!" Feliciano said bowing.

Ludwig shook his head. "Don't worry about it." His head was pounding and he didn't know why. He pressed his fingers on his temple and took some breaths.

He thought of when he saw Feliciano running, Ludwig had chased after him to find out what was going on, and when he finally caught up, a bunch of hideous men were about to jump on him. For some reason, Ludwig was furious and he didn't care if he ended up killing them.

"Thank you!" Feliciano said bowing.

Ludwig looked at him and shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He muttered. He looked at the bastards on the floor. "Come, let's leave here." He said as he began to walk.

"Hold on." Feliciano said.

Ludwig quickly turned around and saw Feliciano walking to the tall man that he had knocked out first.

He stared at Feliciano, "What are you doing?" He asked beginning to panic. He followed him.

"Wait." Feliciano said. He took the hand of the man, which was closed tightly, and opened it.

Then Ludwig saw it, his iron cross necklace.

Feliciano picked it up and was about to get up but then the man grabbed him. He screamed loudly and tried to pull away. Then, Ludwig kicked the man hard in the stomach and he let out a little yelp and fell to the floor. He grabbed Feliciano and pulled him away.

A guard ran up to Ludwig, "Your Majesty, is there a problem?" He seemed out of breath.

"There are three thieves lying in that alley, take them to prison, understood?" Ludwig asked.

The guard bowed and ran into the alley, three other guards followed.

Ludwig began to walk a little fast and Feliciano rushed in front of him, "Your necklace, your Highness." He said, holding it in both his hands.

Ludwig looked at the necklace and then at Feliciano, "You are such a fool!" He said. "Is this really why you chased after that man?"

Feliciano hesitated but nodded his head.

"I don't know if you've forgotten, but I'm a Prince, and at the moment the substitute King. I'm the richest person in Germany. I can get a hundred of those necklace if I wanted too!"

Feliciano looked at the floor. Ludwig could tell that he felt stupid.

"Look." Ludwig said putting a hand under Feliciano's chin and pulling his face up to look at him. "There is no reason good enough for you to run after a random thief on the streets. Do you know how dangerous that is? I don't even want to think about what would have happened to you if I wasn't there."

Feliciano nodded his head and looked away again. "Well, I really liked this necklace," He said.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

"And I really wanted to give it back to you." Feliciano said looking at Ludwig.

Ludwig didn't understand what the young Italian was trying to say.

"So please, take it!" Feliciano held his hands out towards Ludwig.

He looked at the necklace and sighed. Ludwig took it from Feliciano and put it around his neck, then he smiled and said, "Thank you."

Feliciano smiled a very happy smile at him. "I'll see you later then, your Highness." He said beginning to run off.

Ludwig grabbed his hand, and Feliciano turned around shocked.

"Stop with the respect." Ludwig said smiling, "No more bowing, and I'd prefer my friends to call me Ludwig, just Ludwig. Okay?"

Feliciano looked at the Prince and then nodded, "I'll see you later then, Ludwig!" He said smiling. He then ran off and disappeared in the crowd.

Ludwig stood there for a second, smiling. Then he turned towards the carriage and got in. The second he stepped into the carriage, he realized he was being watched.

His grandfather named Frederick watched him with angry eyes. His arms were crossed and he had one leg on top of the other. Frederick was the Queen's father. He was very tough and strong for an old man when Ludwig's mother was alive, but when she died; his grandfather became weak. Ludwig's mother was everything to him.

Mister Frederick tells them how all that is important now is the happiness of his two grandsons, because that is what the Queen wanted and Ludwig know well that his grandfather honestly wanted that too.

As scary as he looked, Frederick was a good person. The only problem is that Frederick has always been strict and hard to cooperate with.

"Who is he?" The old man asked in his loud booming voice.

Ludwig took a long breath, _"What was I going to tell him? That I, the current King of Germany, was friend with a slave?" _He thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6: Can this be Love?**

Feliciano didn't know why he was so happy. When he returned to the palace, he was literally dancing and humming some tune he was making up.

This lasted until Kiku patted him, "Feliciano-kun, what's wrong?" He asked, dragging Feliciano into his room.

Feliciano calmed himself down, and then ran his fingers through his messy hair. "I don't know." He admitted.

Kiku looked worried. "Maybe I should get a doctor?"

"No, Kiku!" Felicinao said, laughing. He sat on Kiku's bed, "I haven't gone crazy!"

"But Feliciano-kun, this isn't like you. You always act depressed, you are always frowning, your hands ball up into fists all the time, you yell at everyone who bothers you and you're just always so mean like Lovino-san." Kiku took a deep breath after he finished.

Feliciano didn't know if Kiku was insulting him, or if he was just truly worried.

"Wait a second…" Kiku paused. "Let me guess, you're in love, aren't you?" He said.

Feliciano laughed, hysterically for a long, long moment. When he was able to speak, he looked at Kiku and said, "Oh, Kiku! I don't think I have ever laughed this much in my life!"

"But what's so funny? A long time ago, I fell in love too. When I did, I was always so happy." Kiku said.

"But Kiku, you are always happy. Although you didn't show it." Feliciano giggled.

Kiku put his hands on his hips and pouted. "But I was really happy when I was in love." He said, and Feliciano laughed.

"Well, I'm not in love but I have something to tell you!"Feliciano grinned.

"Oh, tell me!" Kiku said, suddenly excited.

Feliciano patted the space beside him on the bed and Kiku came and sat next to him. "Well, I'm only telling you this because you are my best friend and I trust you okay?"

Kiku nodded. "Don't worry, I love secrets."

"Well, you know the Prince right?" Feliciano started. He told Kiku everything about his friendship with Ludwig. Kiku looked more than amazed, and excited.

"I told you if you acted more elegant the King would marry you to his son." Kiku said.

"What? Kiku! No, it's not like that!" Feliciano yelled. "Look, how could someone like me be married to a Prince? I'm just a slave!"

Kiku looked at the floor. "Well, nothings impossible." He muttered.

"You're just lying to yourself." Feliciano said.

They both sighed at the same time. They both knew it was impossible; slaves were way past the lowest class and always have been. They should never be given respect.

"But Feliciano-kun, the Prince must like you; I mean if he saved you. You must mean something to him." Kiku said with glitters on his eyes.

Feliciano shrugged.

"You like him, don't you?" Kiku asked.

"No, Kiku! No." Feliciano said. "I wonder now, why am I even friends with him?"

Feliciano thinks what happened to his revenge. It was Ludwig's father who killed his parents. It was Ludwig's father who destroyed their life, and it was Ludwig's father who made him into an orphan slave. He should hate Ludwig as much as Feliciano hate Ludwig's father, but he don't. Maybe it was because Ludwig was so nice, or that if he wasn't a slave, he wouldn't have such an amazing best friend like Kiku.

Kiku continued to stared at his friend, "Feliciano-kun, I think I shouldn't say this but I noticed most slaves here were so jealous of you." Kiku said.

Feliciano turned around, "Ve? Why?" He asked, confused.

Kiku smiled, "You are so handsome or should I call you beautiful too. Whenever you walk by, women and men always look at you like you are some sort of goddess. Now, even the King's son is after you."

"Ve... Forget the Prince!" Feliciano said.

Kiku smiled, "Maybe he likes _you._" Kiku said.

"No! Of course not! Just because you think I'm beautiful or handsome, doesn't mean the world does!" Feliciano pouted.

"I never said the world does, I said _he_ does." Kiku smiled.

"Kiku, stop getting my hopes up." Feliciano said, and then felt his face go hot.

"I knew it! You do like him!" Kiku said.

"Vee! I do _not_!" Feliciano yelled. The argument continued all evening, and of course, Feliciano won in the end.

In the other side of the palace, Ludwig wandered the hallways looking for Gilbert, his grandfather wanted to see his older brother so Ludwig promised the old man that he would find Gilbert.

Finally, Gilbert and Ludwig bumped into each other. "Brother, I was looking all over for you!"

"What is it, West?" He asked.

"Grandfather is here, he wants to see you."

"Old Fritz!" Gilbert yelled as he jumped up, he grabbed Ludwig's hand and they began to run, well Gilbert ran and dragged Ludwig behind him.

"Did you talk to him yet?" Gilbert asked, excitement filled in his voice.

"Yes." Ludwig said, as he remembered their conversation in the carriage.

"Who is he?" The old man asked.

"A friend, grandfather." Ludwig replied.

"A friend? You seemed quite close with that peasant." Frederick said.

"Yes, that peasant is a close friend of mine." Ludwig said, the carriage began to move and he looked out the window.

"You jumped out of the carriage in such a hurry. What did you need from him?" Frederick asked.

"He had to return a necklace to me." Ludwig said.

"A necklace? What was he doing with one of your necklace?"

Ludwig knew if he brought up anything related to his mother, his grandfather would cool down, "It fell into mothers' fountain, and I asked him to retrieve it for me." Ludwig replied, and as he guessed, he had calmed.

"Oh. Well, my grandson, you shouldn't be getting too close with a peasant." He said.

Ludwig nodded his head, deciding not to say anything else.

When Gilbert opened the door to their grandfather's chamber, the old man pulled Gilbert into his arms. "My awesome grandson!" He said.

Gilbert laughed and hugged the old man tightly. "Old Fritz!"

Mister Frederick really loved his grandsons, especially Gilbert; one of the reasons was that Gilbert looked identical to the Queen. Ludwig, on the other hand, he only had some of his mothers' traits but he looked more like his father, and Ludwig hated that. Their grandfather lived on the far eastern side of Germany, and Ludwig and Gilbert live all the way up northwest. So the two Princes hardly ever saw the old man but when they did, Frederick always did something to make his two grandsons happy.

When Ludwig's mother died, his grandfather was the most affected. Ludwig remember watching him cry and scream in agony. He was such a strong person that he never imagined him to cry like that. Frederick's wife stopped eating when she heard their daughter died, and became unhealthy. She died about 8 months later. It took the old man a couple years to recover, but even now after 7 years he still feels the pain caused by the Queen's death. Ludwig can see it in his worn out, eyes. He always think that maybe he was in so much pain because his only daughter was murdered.

Ludwig leaned against the wall and watched the two men laughing.

"Gilbert, stop acting like a kid." Ludwig said.

Gilbert began to pout, "I'm not, West!"

"Leave your awesome brother alone!" Frederick said, laughing.

Ludwig smiled, he was always happy to see someone give Gilbert attention, since their father couldn't.

Gilbert and the old man continued to play their games through the whole evening. They invited Ludwig as well, but soon he was called to do some King work. He spent the rest of the evening working and went to sleep late. He was able to sleep in a little longer the next morning, longer being until just after sunrise.

When Feliciano woke up he went straight to work. The morning passed by quickly, so did noon and he felt empty for some reason. He would always look up and around, expecting to see someone.

It felt like forever since Feliciano had seen the Prince, he think he began to miss Ludwig. He felt strange the whole day, turning around for no reason, looking out a window, and stopping his work to go into the hallway and just wait for who knows what.

"Ve... Was I waiting for him?" Feliciano said.

He was beginning to get angry with himself. "_I can't expect him to always be here."_ Feliciano told himself. "_He is the Prince, he must be busy."_

The day passed by quickly and the sun was already setting. He remembered the argument he had with Kiku the night before. He began smiling, he didn't know why.

"FOOLISHIANO!" Roderich yelled.

Feliciano jumped when he heard Roderich, almost dropping the pot filled with potato which he had in his arms. "Yes, mister Roderich?"

"What's with the smirk?" Roderich asked.

Feliciano responded by shaking his head.

"You are such a waste of time!" Roderich yelled putting his hand on Feliciano's head. "Go put that in the kitchen, help make the dinner and return to the slave quarters for more orders, understood?"

Feliciano nodded his head, bowed and walked away. After he finished with the food he rushed to the slave quarters, the sun had already begun to set and he wanted to sleep so he began to rush.

"Good, there you are." Roderich said. He handed Feliciano a bunch of flowers in a basket. "I want you to plant these around the large tree where the Queens grave is." He said.

"Ve? Where is the Queen's grave?" Feliciano asked.

"It is north of the fountain; you will see a statue of a woman. That is the Queen's grave." Roderich said.

Feliciano nodded and left to the palaces' garden. He remembered the day that he was cleaning the throne room, that was when Ludwig told him that his mother died, Feliciano never really thought about it until now. He had also never noticed a statue of a woman near the fountain before, but from today on, Feliciano knew he would always remember it.

The statue was a short walk from the fountain. It was large and made completely out of marble. The statue was beautiful and so realistic; Feliciano assumed that the woman was the mother of Ludwig. If the statue was this beautiful, he wondered how beautiful she was. It was so detailed that he could see the similarities between the Queen and Ludwig's older brother. They had the same eye shapes, the same nose and dimples. Feliciano smiled at it and bowed.

He then prayed to it, and began to plant the flowers. He looked at the gravestone; in beautifully carved writing it said "Sophia Beilschmidt Augustus, Daughter of the great Fredrick William Augustus, and wife of his Majesty Germania Beilschmidt."

Feliciano smiled when he realized that Sophia meant 'wisdom'. He remembered Ludwig tell him that she was an amazing and wise woman. He read on, 'Do not dwell in the Past, Do not dream of the Future, Live in the Present, and all will be well.' Feliciano thought about it for a second, he liked the sounds of that.

The moon was rising when he finished planting the flowers. Thankfully the lamp men had already lit the lamps, so Feliciano could see easily. He went back to the slave quarters and met Roderich there.

"Done already?" He asked, a little nicely.

Feliciano nodded his head "Yes, mister Roderich."

"Okay then, I need you to return to the grave and put this flower garland around the statue's neck as well. That's all you need to do for today." Roderich said as he handed Feliciano the garland.

Feliciano nodded and left again. This time he walked a little slower. He decided to go through the throne room this time; if he stay behind the columns the guards won't say anything. Plus, he might even see Ludwig. The large doors were open, and he saw many other slaves use the eastern throne room doors to get to wherever they need to go too.

As soon as Feliciano walked in, he saw the Prince and happiness filled his heart. Ludwig sat there on the throne, his head rested on his hand; he looked bored out of his skull.

Feliciano wanted to laugh but if he did, he would probably get into trouble. So he just stared at Ludwig, hoping the Prince would look up and see him, but Ludwig seemed to be busy with the short, chubby man stand at the bottom of the stair case leading to the throne.

Six men dressed in rich clothing stood on both sides of the Prince, three on each side. Feliciano have never seen them before, but they looked important. They all had strict, hard and angry looking faces on them, none of them were smiling.

Ludwig closed his eyes tightly for a second and then opened them and then Feliciano saw Ludwig look at his direction. He think he saw Ludwig's face light up, which filled Feliciano with joy. The Prince smiled at him, and Feliciano returned it.

That second, Feliciano saw one of the men standing next to Ludwig look at him. He quickly turned away and left through western throne room doors. Feliciano was really happy now. He smiled as he walked all the way to the statue. He bowed again, and carefully climbed up and put the garland around the Queens' neck. He prayed forgiveness for stepping on her and then turned around and he walked towards the fountain. He sat on the edge of it and smiled as he played with his own fingers.

_"Ve~ I felt crazy, why am I so happy?" _Feliciano thought.

He twirled his fingers in his auburn hair and pulled out some of the knots. Then he turned and looked at his reflection in the fountain, and smiled. He got up and looked around and no one was in sight, for some reason his heart began to jump up and down, so Feliciano began to jump up and down as well. The only eyes that were watching him were the eyes of Queen Sophia, and he didn't mind that. So Feliciano began to twirl around the fountain, he jumped up onto the edge and back down and he danced his own little dance.

* * *

Ludwig was getting completely annoyed with the Taxman. His blabbering was completely useless. The Prince didn't see any reason to increase taxes; they were doing just fine, they had no need for more money. He sat there bored out of his skull and when Ludwig finally thought the man was finished, he had a whole new list of plans to talk about. Ludwig sighed but smiled at him, he didn't want to be rude.

To be honest, Ludwig really didn't know why he felt so impatient. So he sat there, spending most of his time trying to think of what he wanted. The six of his royal court members were standing by his side. Each one of them had a special task that they must do, and they are his 'most trusted advisers.'

Lord Arthur Kirkland takes care of Education; he was in charge of getting education for the high classed people.

Lord Francis Bonnefoy looked after Entertainment; he was in charge of keeping Germans entertained, especially the high classed people.

Judging prisoners and bringing criminals to justice in Germany is done by Lord Alfred F. Jones.

Lord Wang Yao looks after Germany's environment and is in charge of the construction of buildings and palaces, he keeps Germany looking good.

General Ivan Bragansky is head of the military.

Finally, Lord or Doctor Matthew Williams is in charge of all medical related issues in Germany. Like Doctor Sadik, Matthew was kind and gentle, but strict when he needed to be.

They can all be nice people, but when they are standing there next to the throne, they all put on their stern, scary faces.

As Ludwig mind began to wander off Lord Arthur tapped him.

Ludwig looked up.

"Your Majesty, please try to pay attention." Arthur whispered.

Ludwig nodded his head and looked back at the short, chubby man. But then he closed his blue eyes for a second, feeling the impatience again. He felt like he wanted something, but he didn't know what. When Ludwig opened his eyes again he saw Feliciano.

Feliciano walked behind the column of the throne room behind a bunch of other people. Suddenly all the feeling of impatience sank to the ground, Ludwig felt himself light up. He quickly smiled at Feliciano, and he smiled back. Looking at Feliciano's face made Ludwig happy but for some reason, he saw Feliciano's look at Lord Francis and then look away.

Ludwig turned his head to Lord Francis and saw he was looking at Feliciano. Ludwig looked back at where Feliciano was, but he exited through the western throne room doors. Ludwig sighed. He began to get impatient again, and then realized it was Feliciano who he wanted to see. He started fidgeting with his iron cross necklace, and then his blond hair. The wait was too long. Ludwig wanted the man to leave already. Then the Prince finally grew too impatient, he got up and said, "My good sir."

The man stopped talking and looked at Ludwig.

"I really don't see any reason for us to increase the tax rate."Ludwig said.

"Your Majesty?" Lord Arthur questioned.

"I think we are doing perfectly fine right now, there is no point in changing anything." Ludwig said.

The taxman hesitated and then nodded his head.

"Yes, I agree with the King. It is getting late as well; we should all get some rest aru." Lord Yao said smiling at Ludwig.

_"Yes, thank you!"_ Ludwig thought.

People began to exit the throne room and as soon as the six Royal Court members had left, Ludwig rushed out of the throne room. He really wanted to see Feliciano. No, he _had_ to see the young Italian. Ludwig was almost running down the halls. He bumped into two guards which made him have to stop and apologize, well he didn't have too, but Ludwig did anyways. He ran into the palace garden and saw someone at his mothers' fountain, Ludwig prayed that it was Feliciano and rushed down the stone path.

It was him. Ludwig stopped when he saw Feliciano and took a breath. He was twirling around in circles around the fountain with his eyes closed. Ludwig smiled and watched him. Feliciano was humming a tune that Ludwig never heard before, and doing strange movements but as strange as it was, he enjoyed watching Feliciano.

As Ludwig watched he wondered why he felt like he would go crazy if he didn't see that boy. He never really had a real friend before, maybe this was a feeling you felt when you have friends.

When Feliciano finally opened his eyes and noticed Ludwig, he gasped and then stopped immediately. Ludwig chuckled. Feliciano stared at him with his big eyes and then smiled.

Ludwig walked up to the boy and asked, "Have you ever gone to any dance classes?"

Feliciano shook his head.

Ludwig chuckled again and then he took both Feliciano's hands and put them on his strong shoulders and held Feliciano's waist. Feliciano hesitated, but then looked like he trusted the Prince.

"Do you want to learn?" Ludwig asked.

"Oh, yes! Please!" Feliciano said smiling widely.

Ludwig was really happy that he agreed. "Okay then," Ludwig started.

"Wait. How do_ you _know how to dance?" Feliciano asked raising an eyebrow.

Ludwig smiled, "Firstly, just because I'm a German Prince, doesn't mean I don't know how to dance." He said and Feliciano laughed. "My mother learned from someone and taught me a little bit when I was a child. More recently, just to help me have a little fun, Lord Francis taught me." He said.

"Lord Francis?" Feliciano asked.

"I don't know if you saw him, but he's one of the men standing next to me, the one who has shoulder length curly blond hair and a slight of hair on his chin. He is a dancer, dancing is important in his family; he knows a lot of dances." Ludwig said.

"Really?" Feliciano asked Ludwig and the Prince nodded his head. "Okay. Teach me then!"

Ludwig smiled and began to teach him what he knew. Though Feliciano looked slightly embarrassed, he was completely enjoying himself as they twirled around the Queen's fountain, but that time, Feliciano did it more elegantly.

"This is a little slow." Feliciano said looking up at Ludwig, "Can we go a little faster?"

"Of course." Ludwig said. He moved Feliciano faster now and he laughed. Ludwig couldn't see where he was going, but that didn't matter. He lifted Feliciano up in the air and he laughed loudly and then, looked down at Ludwig and smiled.

Feliciano felt like he was flying when Ludwig lifted him in the air. The Prince spun him around and he laughed. He felt that something like that happened before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Ludwig put Feliciano down and they were moving slowly again. It was quiet, and no one was in sight.

Feliciano looked down at their feet. He noticed his dirty feet and a broken sandals while Ludwig wore shoes that were the colour gold and for all Feliciano know, it could be real gold even his fancy outfit. He felt strange standing so close to the Prince. Ludwig was the Prince; anyone could tell that just by looking at all the gold. Feliciano was a slave and anyone could tell that by just looking at his torn up cloths.

Feliciano sighed.

"What?" Ludwig asked.

He replied by shaking his head.

"You know, in this type of dancing, you are supposed to look at the person you are dancing with." Ludwig said.

Feliciano looked up at him, "Better?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

Ludwig nodded.

They had stopped dancing, instead, they just stood there. Ludwig's arms were still around Feilciano's waist though and his hands were still around Ludwig's neck. Feliciano saw him look only at his eyes.

"You have nice eyes." Ludwig said.

"I know, you told me that already but thank you." Feliciano replied smiling.

Ludwig laughed, quietly. They were quiet for a bit, and Feliciano got nervous.

"So, the other day you called this fountain your mothers' fountain, why is that?" Feliciano asked.

"Oh, my mother designed it. Actually; she designed most of the garden. She wanted a garden in the palace so people can come here and relax, that's why she did this." Ludwig replied.

"She is very good with designing things!" Feliciano said nodding his head.

"Yes, she wanted to plant another garden, on the eastern side of the palace but she was murdered before she could get to it." Ludwig said looking away.

Feliciano looked up at him, "Your mother was murdered?" He asked, almost whispering.

Ludwig nodded his head.

Feliciano turned and looked at the grave.

"My mothers' body isn't buried there." Ludwig said.

Feliciano looked back at him.

"Some of her hair and belongings are there. Everyone loved her so much and wanted her to be near them, so my father arranged for this to be done." Ludwig stared at the statue.

"So where is her body?" Feliciano asked but then he regretted it, he should stop talking about this; he could see pain in Ludwig's eyes.

"In our family's burial site, under our families palace, along with the bodies of my deceased grandparents." Ludwig said.

It seemed to Feliciano that Ludwig had just realized the Prince was still holding him because he let go and stepped back. "Sorry."

They were both looking at the floor for a while and then Ludwig said. "I should go, the guards will begin to look for me. You should too, go get some sleep."

Feliciano looked up at him and Ludwig smiled, he turned and headed towards the palace entrance. He didn't want Ludwig to leave and he wasn't tired anymore either. He tried to think of some way to make Ludwig stay, and then something hit him. Feliciano began running up to Ludwig and he startled the Prince when he jumped in front of him.

Feliciano smiled and then wrapped his arms around Ludwig's waist. Ludwig straightened up and Feliciano could feel his confusion. He put his head on Ludwig's chest and closed his eyes.

Feliciano listened to Ludwig's heart for a moment and then said. "I remember now." Feliciano smiled to himself. "My father, he left us often because of the work he always did. But he never failed to come back to us. When he did… he would always bring me presents. I remembered my father's face. And he would always lift me up in the air and spin around, making me feel like I was flying…"

Feliciano said it slowly, and tears rolled down his cheek. He tried to breathe evenly, but he couldn't, he had started to cry. It was the first time he had talked about a specific memory of his parents in years. Feliciano felt Ludwig wrap his arms around him, one arm around his waist, and the other stroked his hair.

All his anger washed away as sadness. "Ve! I'm sorry!" Feliciano said. "I've been bothering you often recently…"

"No, no." Ludwig whispered. "Take your time. I heard the crying is the best way to get over things."

It took a while for Feliciano to stop crying, but Ludwig waited patiently for the boy. When Feliciano thought he was done, Ludwig lifted his face up and wiped his tears.

"Don't dwell in the past." Ludwig said. "My mother used to say that to me all the time."

Feliciano nodded, remembering his mothers' grave stone.

Ludwig held Feliciano's hand as he told the boy not to worry about anything. "I'm here for you." Ludwig said smiling. "Goodnight, and sleep well." He said walking away. He left Feliciano there, dazed.

Feliciano used the fountains water to wipe his face, he looked up and the moon was high in the sky. He wandered back into the palace. Many guards asked him what he was doing so late and Feliciano simply said that he wanted to walk. Some nodded their heads, told him not to be out so late and to hurry back to his room, others looked at him dirtily.

Feliciano was too dazed and tired to even glare. It was as if, as soon as Ludwig left, he was dead tired. When he finally made it to his room he locked the door and fell flat on his bed. It hurt a bit, but he didn't care. He closed his eyes and remembered Ludwig hold him, and then his argument with Kiku and Feliciano smiled. Then his eyes opened widely and he threw himself up off his bed.

"No way!" Feliciano said to himself.

Ludwig felt extremely tired after he left Feliciano. As he walked through the halls his eyes struggled to stay open, he thought he might fall on the floor and fall asleep. When he made it to the hallway that where his chamber is in, Ludwig saw Francis sitting in front of his door, yawning.

As soon as Francis noticed the Prince, he shot himself up. "Prince Ludwig! Where have you been?" He asked, his loud voice hurt Ludwig's ears.

"At the garden." Ludwig said as he walked towards Francis.

Francis giggled. "Honhonhon~ My prince, we've got some chit chatting we need to do!" He said grinning.

"Can't this 'chit chatting' wait until tomorrow?" Ludwig asked. He opened the door and Francis pushed him in, shut the door, and then locked it. "Lord Francis! Please! Let's talk tomorrow." Ludwig begged.

"No!" Francis said, "And stop saying Lord, it makes me feel old! If you want to show me respect, call me monsieur."

Ludwig frowned. "You are old." He said.

"If you don't be quiet, I'll tell your father what you have been up to while he was gone." Francis threatened.

"Up to? What have I been up too?" Ludwig asked.

"I never knew you were going to pass on the dance moves I taught you." Francis smiled wickedly.

Ludwig stared at him, "_Oh no_." He said to himself.

Francis saw the Prince's shock and laughed. He held his hands together at his face and batted his eyelashes, "Oh, you have such nice eyes!" Francis said in a low voice

"Why were you spying on me?!" Ludwig said angrily.

Francis shrugged. "I couldn't help it! I saw your sudden eagerness in the throne room when he walked by, and as soon as he disappeared I heard you sigh. Plus, I didn't see anything, just heard." Francis laughed and laughed, although Ludwig didn't see what was so funny.

"Don't you dare tell a single soul!" Ludwig almost yelled.

"Oh, Dieu (God)! This is juicy!" Francis laughed.

"Francis! I will never forgive you!" Ludwig said with his eyes wide open filled with anger.

"Hey, hey, calm!" Francis told Ludwig. "Relax!" He walked to the washroom in the Prince's chamber and rushed out with a handful of water and he splashed it on Ludwig.

"Francis!" Ludwig yelled, wiping his face and looking unbelievably annoyed with Francis' ridiculousness.

"Okay, now you aren't tired, so let's talk." Francis said smiling.

Ludwig rolled his eyes and sat cross-legged on his bed and Francis sat next to him.

"So tell me." Francis said.

"Tell you what?" Ludwig asked looking away.

"Tell me about _him_!" Francis said, nudging the Prince.

"What is there to tell?" Ludwig asked.

"Oh, mon dieu! You can't even tell your own cousin your secrets?" Francis frowned.

_"Cousin."_ Ludwig thought. He never could believe how he was related to someone like Francis. His father and Ludwig's mother were half-siblings, which made them cousins.

"Tell me! Tell me!" Francis squealed.

"Ugh! Francis, I have nothing to say!" Ludwig said.

"Oh c'mon! I know you love him! There is no point lying to me!" Francis said.

Ludwig stared at Francis and then chuckled. He looked at Francis again and his cousin was now frowning.

"You know, you are funny." Ludwig said.

"Why?" Francis asked.

"I'm not in love with anyone!" Ludwig said.

"Why not?" Francis asked.

"Because…" Ludwig tried to think of a reason but he couldn't.

"Ha! You are _so_ in love, you just don't know it!" Francis said, "I'll open your eyes!"

Ludwig sighed; he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

"Okay, Ludwig, I'm going to tell you a bunch of clues that show you are falling in love, okay?" Francis said.

Ludwig frowned, "I—"

"Shh! Lets start." Francis smiled. "Firstly, when you are with him, you want to walk really, really slow." He paused, probably letting Ludwig think for a second.

Ludwig don't remember actually going for a walk with Feliciano.

"Second, when you hear his voice your heart beats faster, and faster." Francis paused again.

Ludwig remembered the day when he helped Feliciano clean the throne room, his voice did make Ludwig's heart jump.

"Third, you always want to be with him, and when you aren't you get really frustrated."

Ludwig remembered that evening, when he felt really impatient, and as soon as he saw Feliciano, Ludwig knew Feliciano was the one he wanted to see.

"Fourth, whenever you think of the time you spend with him, happy or sad, you smile."

Ludwig thought of the different things he did with Feliciano and yes, he smiled.

"Fifth, you would do anything for him."

Ludwig thought he would do anything for Feliciano, wouldn't he?

"And sixth, this whole time, while you listened to me, that one boy's face was floating around in your head."

Feliciano's face was floating around in Ludwig's head this whole time_. "Was I really in love?" _ Ludwig thought, he started smiling and fell deep into thought.

"_Ha_!" Francis yelled, startling Ludwig.

"What?" Ludwig confused.

"You are in love! I knew I was right!" Francis patted Ludwig's on the back. "So cousin, tell me who's the lucky nobleman?" He pushed, "I never really saw him properly."

Ludwig frowned; he fell back on his bed and covered his head with the pillow. "Oh, Gott. What have I done?" He groaned.

"Hey, come on! Can't you trust me?" Francis asked trying to pull the pillow away.

Ludwig let go and Francis flew back. "That's not it Francis! This boy, he _isn't_ a nobleman!" He said.

"Oh? Is he the son of some high classed man?" Francis asked.

"No." Ludwig replied.

"Related to someone high classed?"

"No."

"Family-friends with someone high classed."

"Nope."

"Son of a scribe?"

"No."

"Son of a craftsman?"

"No!"

Ludwig knew Francis was getting worried.

"What? Well… that leaves slave."

Ludwig nodded his head.

Francis laughed. "Are you telling me that you are in love with a slave?!"

Ludwig nodded slowly, feeling really strange.

Francis got up, "Ludwig! That's insane! Are you out of your mind?" He yelled.

"Maybe." Ludwig said.

"Your father will murder you if he find out! Especially, he is a _boy_!" Francis said.

"I would never have realized I was in love, if it weren't for you." Ludwig told Francis.

Francis sighed and sat back down. "No way, he is part of the lowest class of German society, Ludwig."

Ludwig stared at the ceiling, "He's not a German, he's Italian." He said.

"Really? He looks like a German too me but okay. So, do you really love him?" Francis asked.

"I think so." Ludwig said.

He expected Francis to hit him, but instead Francis smiled. "Well, at least this proves that you won't be a ravenous King. Right? I mean, if you managed to make your self fall in love with a slave then I guess it's safe to say you believe that everyone is, well..." He thought of the word.

"A human being." They said it at the same time, Francis smiled at Ludwig.

"As much as I shouldn't do this, I support you, cousin!" Francis giggled.

Ludwig smiled at him, maybe Francis wasn't as much of a freak as Ludwig thought he was.


End file.
